Game of Love
by madeinoctober
Summary: Nathan and Brooke spend a summer together healing their broken hearts from the departure of Haley, and Lucas's newfound relationship with Peyton.
1. You Can't Be Missed If You Never Go Away

**Author's note:** Hey, everyone. This is my first fanfic and since I've become a Brathan worshipper, I decided to write this. Hope it's to your liking. Please read and review! It gives a girl motivation.

**Need to know:** Brooke and Lucas were together, but he cheated on her with Peyton. Haley left to go on tour, and she was never married to Nathan but she moved into his apartment soon after they became a couple. Jake is also friends with Peyton. It takes place right before summer starts, ending their junior year.

* * *

Brooke sat up suddenly from the couch; she couldn't sleep and she couldn't think of anything else except Lucas. That was the problem. He left her, for good, this time. The dark living room reminded her of the heartbreak she was experiencing; it was lonely and quiet. She glanced at the clock on the far wall and it read a faint 2:30 am. She leaned back against the couch and took a deep breath, contemplating on whether she should try to get some sleep or go through another sleepless night. A sound of feet shuffling turned her attention towards the hallway. Nathan made his way to the kitchen, careful not to make any noise. He opened the refrigerator and searched for a water bottle; when he found one, a voice came from behind him. "Grab me one too, yeah?"

Nathan whirled around, almost dropped the bottle, "Brooke! I didn't know you were awake."

Brooke stood up and walked towards him, "Can't really sleep, you know?"

"I know what you mean." Nathan grabbed a second bottle and handed it to her, "This heat is killing me."

"Yeah, that too." Brooke took a drink and put the bottle down on the counter, "Among other things."

Nathan nodded and the two shared a few minutes of silence together. There wasn't much to say. Nathan shut the refrigerator door closed and the photo of him and Haley caught his eye. He took the picture and placed it face down on the counter, "You're not the only one hurting."

Brooke glanced down at the photo and shrugged, "Who would've thought this is where we would end up, Nathan Scott?" She walked back towards the couch and laid down. Nathan didn't know what to say and made his way back to the bedroom. He shut the door and sat on the bed. Haley left him, after what he thought was so real. Music became more important to her and as much as he hates it to admit it, he loves that she chased her dream. She just didn't believe in taking him along for the ride. He chugged the rest of the water and threw the bottle on the floor. Another sleepless night for the both of them. Day 4.

--

Brooke sat in her car and watched the river court. There was no one there, but she imagined Lucas playing on the court, showing off while she watched from the sidelines. A little smile crept up on her face when the image of Peyton shot it down. No, it wasn't really an image, Peyton's car had pulled up next to hers and she was making her way to Brooke's window.

"Brooke." Peyton's voice called out to her. Brooke started her car and drove off; she could care less about what Peyton has to say. To her, she didn't have a best friend. And she didn't need one either.

--

The apartment was quiet when Brooke made her way back home. She saw her luggage in the corner of the room, clothes spilling out of it. A crazy idea crossed her mind and she smiled. She walked to her luggage and packed her clothes, closing it and carrying it by the door. She grabbed her things from the bathroom and when she walked back out, a familiar figure stood next to her things, "Going home?"

Brooke smiled, "I'm leaving, yes. Going home? Not even close." She grabbed a bag from the living room and dumped her things in, searching around for anything she might've missed.

Nathan looked confused, "Are you gonna live in your car, then? The apartment is still yours for the taking. Well, the living room is."

"No, Nathan," Brooke looked back at him, "I'm gonna go for a little road trip."

"To where?"

"Who knows!" She was unusually ecstatic. Her cheery self was coming back, even for a little bit. "I'm just…gonna drive."

Nathan watched as she grabbed her things from all over the room, "Do you have any money to get wherever you're going to?"

"Honestly, I really don't, but right now, I could care less."

Nathan laughed, "So what's gonna happen when you're out of gas and no place to stay for the night?"

"I'll rough it. But my car's doable too." She sounded delirious. Nathan seemed almost worried, until he ran into the bedroom and came back out with a bag of his own, "So let's go."

Now Brooke was confused, "Uh, you're coming with me?"

"It's better than staying in this hell hole. What do you say, are you up for an adventure?"

"Hmm. I guess we might as well make the most of our summer!" She gathered the last of her things and turned back to Nathan, who was holding the door open for her, "When did you pack your bags?"

"Oh, I actually planned on leaving a week ago, but you moved in the living room and I didn't have the heart to just leave you alone."

"Well, well, Nathan Scott. I didn't know you cared." She smiled and he carried her bag downstairs. They packed their things in the car and Brooke took the driver's seat. She turned to Nathan, "Last chance to stay…"

Nathan shook his head, "I have no reason to stay." He looked back up at the apartment that he once shared with Haley, "It's now or never."

Brooke started the car and drove off. It was noon and she really didn't know where she was driving. She just knew that Tree Hill wasn't where she wanted to be right now…or even, at all.


	2. Elsewhere

**Author's note:** Thanks for the reviews from the first chapter! This chapter is where we'll find out where these two are really going.

Boredom ensued in the making of this banner (take out the spaces): H t t p : / / i 3 7 . t i n y p i c . c o m / e k j 7 m g . p n g

* * *

The sun beamed down on Nathan's face as he slept soundly during the ride. Brooke looked over at him and let out a small laugh. His face looked like he was in pain from the heat, but he didn't budge. She tapped his arm and he slowly looked up, "You might get a sun burn on your face. Not very attractive if you're gonna try to hook up with any ladies in the future."

Nathan sighed, "How long was I out?"

"Oh, Only…" She looked at the clock in her car, "an hour. We haven't even left North Carolina and already you're tapping out."

"I'm just tired."

"From what? Moping around?"

"No," He sat up to be more comfortable, "I went to see Dan before we left."

"Oh."

"I didn't really _see_ him since he wasn't at the dealership, but I wanted to tell him that I wasn't gonna do High Flyers this summer."

Brooke arched her eyebrow, "High Flyers as in….." she shot Nathan a shocked look, "What are you doing here in my car?!"

"Brooke, I didn't wanna go! There was no point."

"But it's basketball, Nate. It's your life!"

"That's why I didn't wanna do it. All my life, everything's been about basketball and my dad. It was never really basketball and ME." He hesitated to continue, "But with Haley, I felt like I was able to do it for myself. And without Haley…"

Brooke nodded in understanding, "There's no point." She sighed. "Don't you think it's not fair that you push her to chase her dreams and she leaves you high and dry to go on tour with Chris Keller? What about your dreams, Nate?"

Nathan shook his head, "It doesn't really matter. High Flyers is not as important to me than I thought it was." He glanced at her and back on the road, "What about you?"

"Me?" She scoffed, "Let's see, my best friend betrays me, my boyfriend leaves me, my parents are in Europe, and as for me…I have nothing. I'm fantastic."

"Why did you--I mean, why are you leaving Tree Hill?"

Brooke didn't wanna answer him. But she glanced at his curious face and continued driving, "Lucas was the first guy I gave my heart to. And just like any other guy, he smashed it and threw it in my face. I need to get away from Tree Hill. It's the only thing I can do that won't send me to prison." She let out a nervous little laugh. Nathan watched her fuel gauge, "You didn't fill up, did you?"

Brooke shrugged, "Well, I didn't really think I'd need it, and I was kind of stalling until I figured out what credit card my parents haven't cut me off from."

Nathan smiled, "I guess it's a good thing there's two rich kids on this trip. Pull over on the next exit; I'll fill it up for you."

--

It was nearing midnight and Nathan continued driving as Brooke sat in the passenger seat, reading a magazine. He turned on the radio to see if any radio stations would be available when a familiar riff of the guitar suddenly played. Brooke knew what it was and she watched Nathan's hand on the dial. Haley's voice suddenly filled the car and Nathan's hands froze. Brooke shut her eyes and knew how he was feeling. She looked out the window and stared at the faint scenery of stars overhead.

_Dancin' out on seventh street, dancing' through the undergr-_

Nathan shut off the radio. All he needed to hear was Haley's voice, even if she was singing with someone else. Brooke looked over at him. "You okay?" Nathan didn't say a word. He was fighting back something, but he didn't know what. His voice simply had given out. He hadn't heard Haley's voice since she left; no phone calls, nothing.

Brooke spotted a small town from a distance, "You wanna grab a room?"

Nathan didn't answer her. But he drover fast enough for her to know that he was gonna exit at that town. Brooke bit her lip and threw the magazine in the backseat, "If you're gonna kill us, please let me know ahead of time so I can at least prepare for how I'd like to die."

--

The motel room wasn't fancy, but it should do. Brooke walked in and put a bag next to the bed. There was no point taking in all their things since they would leave the next morning. The door was left open for Nathan after he grabbed his bag as well. Brooke stood by the doorway and could sense that Nathan was still angry from earlier. She watched him walk towards the door, drop his bag by the bed, and shut the door. He turned to Brooke and pinned her against the door. Brooke's didn't know what was happening with Nathan, and before she could ask him, he planted his lips on hers. It was an angry kiss; she knew it all too well. He wrapped his arms around her waist and turned both of them so she would have the bed to fall back on. He took off his shirt in swift move and kissed her again, slowly placing her down on the bed, Brooke's mind confused and somewhat excited. He kissed down her neck and slowly made his way to her chest. Brooke was caught up in the excitement and wanted to continue, but her mind snapped back to the reality of it all and pushed Nathan off her.

"Wait, stop."

Nathan sat up, confused, "What? You're stopping me from having sex with you?"

"Look, Nathan, you're angry at Haley. Don't do something--"

"This isn't about Haley!" He grabbed his shirt and put it back on, "The Brooke Davis I knew never said no to sex."

Brooke suddenly felt as if a dagger pierced her heart. That was harsh. She turned away from him, laying on one side of the bed. Nathan stood up and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

--

"Haley…." Nathan whispered as his head dropped down into his hands. He missed her so much that it was painful. He left the room to calm himself down, and avoid the look on Brooke's face after he insulted her. He took a deep breath and tried to hold back tears. How could Haley just drop everything and walk away?

He looked up and stared off into the distance. The town wasn't lively, but it wasn't dead either. Big rigs were pulling up in the motels and gas stations to fill up, the diner down the street was occupied by families passing through or truckers needing a late night meal, and little stores that completed the look of the little town. His mind wandered off to the thought of what Haley could be doing right now at this moment. It was one in the morning and she could either be sleeping, or with Chris Keller. The thought made him cringe and he stood up from the sidewalk of the motel. He made his way back to the room, hoping that Brooke would forgive him for being a jerk to her.

--

Brooke woke up to the sound of her cellphone ringing. She blindly searched for it with her hand as she snaked through her purse on the floor. The name read 'Lucas' and she didn't hesitate to ignore the call. It was 7am and the room remained dark from the closed curtains. She turned around, hearing the shower running behind her in the bathroom. The sudden stop of the shower signaled her to sit up and start getting ready as well. The door was slightly open; Nathan left it that way in case Brooke needed to use it. He stepped out of the shower, towel around his waist, and wiped off the slight fog on the mirror.

"You didn't use up all the hot water, did you?" Brooke had gathered her clothes and was carrying them into the bathroom.

"Nah," Nathan moved out of her way, "Hey, Brooke--"

"Nathan, forget about it." She had one hand on the door, cueing him to get out of the bathroom.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to act like a jerk."

Brooke nodded, "Don't worry about it." She shut the door and jumped in the shower. Nathan turned on the lights in the room, getting dressed up. A cell phone rang and he immediately searched for it in the room. It was Brooke's phone, Lucas's name on the screen. He didn't know whether he should answer it, but figured it was best to ignore the call. Lucas was probably wondering where she was or if she was okay; but it didn't matter, she was safe. He found his own cell phone on the night stand next to the bed; still no phone calls.

What seemed like forever had passed and Brooke finally emerged from the bathroom. Her hair was still damp and she'd barely put on any make-up at all. She found Nathan sitting on the bed, playing with his phone. "I'm ready to go, Nate"

"Yeah," He stood up and got his things, "Hey, you wanna get some food before we go? There's a diner across the street."

Brooke picked up her things as well, "Sure. Your treat, right?" She gave him a smile.

Nathan laughed, "Okay, I think I know what my role is in this road trip." He opened the door and let her pass. They put their things in the car and Nathan proceeded to the office and check-out of the room. Brooke took the driver's seat this time and waited for Nathan to get in the passenger side. She drove across the street and parked in front of the little diner, her stomach grumbling from hunger. They got out and sat in a booth, greeted by a cheery waitress. "How you doin', folks? Any drinks to start with?"

"I will have," Brooke scanned the menu in front of her, "hmm, orange juice will do."

"Same for me." Nathan replied.

"Okay, I'll be right back to take your orders."

"So," Brooke started, "where did your temper take you last night?"

Nathan let out a little laugh, "Just out on the sidewalk." Brooke nodded at his reply and stared at the menu. "So, Lucas called this morning."

Brooke looked up quickly, "Please tell me you didn't answer my phone."

"I didn't. I was just wondering if you talked to him recently."

"No. I think everything we needed to say has been said." Brooke rolled her eyes, "Then again, he might be calling about Peyton trying to talk to at the river court and I drove off."

"You drove off? What did she want?"

"Who knows, who cares? Nothing she can say will make anything better. I mean, take Haley for example."

Nathan's eyebrow crooked, "What do you mean?"

"Ok, Nate, I know you miss her to death. But really, if she called and said she was sorry, would it make it any better for you? Truthfully."

Nathan wanted to say yes, "I don't know…I guess, it would depend on whether she's saying sorry in person or over the phone."

"Why?"

"Well, in person, I'd assume she's coming home. Over the phone, well, I'd assume she wasn't."

"Ok, well, yours is an easier situation, I suppose." Brooke put her menu down, "But nothing Lucas and Peyton can say will change everything…considering they're TOGETHER!"

Nathan understood what she meant. He didn't even know if he believed what he told her. The ordered their foods and minutes later, received them. He watched Brooke play with her breakfast as he poked the yolk of his eggs, spilling out all over his plate. Suddenly, he wasn't so hungry anymore.

"Where are we headed to anyway?"

Nathan looked at her, "I thought you knew where we were going."

"I just started driving, Nate. You're the one with the better directional sense."

"Uh, I dunno. How far do you wanna go?"

Brooke smiled, "As far away as possible."

At that moment, two truckers sat at the counter near Nathan's ear shot. The two were discussing food and destinations. Nathan smiled at the thought of one trucker's reply.

"Los Angeles."

Brooke raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Let's go to L.A."

"Are you serious?"

"Are you game?"

"Oh, Nathan Scott, do NOT try and call me out!" She tossed her napkin at his side. "If you're serious, I'm definitely game."

"Then let's go."


	3. You'll Ask For Me

Lucas walked into Karen's Café, the look of concern on his face, "Mom, have you seen Brooke lately?"

Karen turned around from making coffee, "No, Sorry, Lucas. Why, is everything okay?"

"I don't know." Lucas sat at the counter, "She won't pick up my calls, she's avoiding Peyton. I'm just…worried."

"Lucas, she's got a broken heart. I'm sure she's just taking time for herself, that's all."

"I'm still worried about her." Karen handed him a cup of coffee, "Anyway, I dropped by Nathan's last night and no one was home. His car was still there though. Do you know if he's back at Dan's house?"

Karen shook her head, "I don't know. Honestly, I haven't heard much from anyone, really. I just know that Deb's at the house by herself, ready to rid herself of Dan."

"Yeah, I wonder how he's doing. With this Haley thing, and all."

"Haley's a big girl. And she'll do what's right."

"You know, I'm not a big fan of Nathan Scott, but it does suck what she did to him."

"Hey, you gotta go after your dreams, right?" She saw Peyton walking up towards the café, "Speaking of…"

Lucas turned around and was greeted by a curly haired blonde, a smile on her face, "Morning, gorgeous."

She kissed him on the lips, "Morning. Hey Karen." Karen smiled at her and handed her a cup of coffee as well, "Heard from her yet?"

Lucas shook his head, "No. I guess she just needs some time."

"Hmm. Well, let's not waste our summer worrying about her. What do you say to swimming?"

"I say…I don't have a pool."

Peyton laughed, "See the perks of dating a cheerleader, is that she has rich cheerleader friends that do have a pool. AND…is inviting a few people over for some barbeque and swimming."

Lucas smiled, "And what friend are we talking about here?"

"Bevin," Peyton replied, "She's kinda got a thing for Skills…so, if you could help her out by inviting the river court guys over at her place for a little pool party. I'm sure she'd be really happy."

"Skills, huh?" Lucas laughed, "I'll see you later then."

"All right, see ya later, boyfriend." Peyton gave him another kiss on the lips and walked out of the café.

--

Brooke shook her head back and forth to the beat of the song playing in her car. Nathan was reading the map he found at the diner, scanning it for routes to get to Los Angeles. "I imagine that we'll be there by the end of the week…"

Brooke turned down the radio, "What?"

"I said we might be there by the end of the week." Nathan looked over at her, "What exactly are we gonna do in L.A.?"

"Excuse me, last time I checked this was YOUR idea…"

"No, I mean, where are we gonna stay? Are we gonna blow all our money staying in a hotel all summer? I'm just curious."

"If we're gonna have money problems, you leave that up to me, Nathan Scott. I can talk my way out of anything."

Nathan was weary about the sound of it, "Brooke, whatever it is you're good at, I don't recommend it. I think we can manage."

"See, we're not even there yet and already you're doubting our summer vacation. Relax, Nate, as long as we've got each other, we should be fine." She gave him a sweet, reassuring smile. He smiled back at her and folded up the map he had in his lap. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would be spending a summer vacation with Brooke Davis, of all people. But despite the whole situation, he was looking forward to Los Angeles.

--

_Fast forward to a couple days later…_

The bright lights filled Nathan's vision as he slowly woke up from another sleep. _We're here?_ He thought to himself. He slowly turned his head to see Brooke, a big smile plastered on her face. The sound of horns honking filled his ears and he sat up to get a better look of the city. Brooke had taken over for him after he drove for 10 hours straight, refusing to pull over. Now it was all sinking in. Brooke's cheery voiced interrupted his thoughts, "Oh my god, I'm so excited!"

"Wait, where…" Nathan scanned his surroundings as Brooke managed to go through the traffic ahead of her. He saw the Eiffel Tower in the distance, a gigantic gold Lion in his sights, and the sounds of water splashing back down after a gorgeous display in front of hundreds of people. "Brooke, are we where I think we are…"

Brooke giggled, "Welcome to Vegas, Nate!"

Nathan rolled down his window, "What the hell are--how did we--uh--"

"Ok, so I took a little detour and decided if we're gonna go cross country, we might as well take a little visit to sin city! Come on, don't pretend you're not excited."

Nathan laughed, giving in to the idea, "I just, I guess I didn't expect this at all. You are definitely full of surprises, Davis."

"I know. I'm pretty good, aren't I?"

"So, what's on our agenda tonight?"

"Well, if you're gonna be Mr. Sleepy Head, I was actually planning on going out to a club and lose myself to some dancing. Figured you wouldn't wanna go out anyway."

"Why do you figure that?"

"Because all you do is mope anyway!" She made a right turn, entering the parking lot of the Monte Carlo hotel. "And before you ask, I called ahead and got reservations for a double bed room. Luckily, they had some available."

Nathan still in shock by everything, managed to spit out a few words, "Wait, you're going out alone?"

"Yeah…"

"No way. I'm coming with you."

Brooke pulled into a parking spot, "Honestly, Nathan, I really don't think you'd have a great time--"

"Ok, _honestly_, stop it. I'm not letting you go out there by yourself. Who knows what'll happen to you? No way. I'm going with you."

"Suit yourself. But don't mess with my game, Scott. Or you're gonna get it." They laughed as they got out of the car and unloaded their bags from the trunk. Nathan, following Brooke, called out, "I cannot believe we're here right now."

"I know, right!" Nathan watched as Brooke cheerfully walked towards the elevators, shaking his head and smiling.

--

The hotel room had a nice view of the strip. Brooke stood by the window and admired the sights. Nathan's voice called out from the other side of the room, "I can't believe your fake ID worked. I thought Vegas was really good at spotting them a mile away."

"You should be more surprised at how YOUR fake ID looks."

Nathan grew confused, "What?"

Brooke grabbed her purse from the bed and spilled its contents, revealing fake Ids. Nathan looked through each of them, "Why are you carrying fake Ids of your friends?"

"I kinda use it to save our asses whenever cops claim we're underage. Well, I haven't used them all, but you know." She picked up the cards and started placing them back in her bag. Haley's fake ID found its way in Nathan's hand, "Trudy Gill?"

Brooke laughed, "I know. It's a play of words--"

"I get it, Tutor Girl." He tossed the card back to Brooke and looked through his bag, "I'm gonna get ready."

"Hmm," Brooke looked down at her watch, "I guess it's party time, Nathan Scott." She playfully smacked his arm as she hopped into the bathroom to primp up.

--

Haley James stared off into space in her dressing room. She just finished her set and she was exhausted. She sat on the couch that occupied a space in her dressing room and reached for her cell phone. Scrolling through the contacts list, Nathan's name appeared. She sighed, and scrolled back up, stopping at Lucas's name.

"Hello?" Lucas's sleepy voice was heard over the phone. It was way past midnight in Tree Hill, but Haley needed to talk to her best friend.

"Hey, buddy." Haley said softly.

"Hales?" Lucas sat up suddenly, "Uh, how-how are you? Where are you?"

Haley smiled at the sound of his voice, "I'm fine, Luke. How are you?"

Lucas glanced at the sleeping body next to him, curly blonde hair covering half her face, "I'm doing good. Where are you exactly and why are we having a conversation this late?"

"I'm actually still on tour. Got a couple more months to go."

"Are you coming back after?"

"I dunno, Luke. This is--it's so unbelievable here. It's everything I could ever hope for and dream of." She paused, hesitating to ask, "How's Nathan doing?"

Lucas ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "I wish I could tell you. I haven't seen him around at all. For all I know, he's locked up in Dan's place."

"Why, isn't he at the apartment?"

"Well, his car is. But I haven't seen him. You sound worried."

"Just curious. He's probably just taking some time to himself."

"Probably."

"All right, Luke, I'm gonna go. You can get some sleep."

"Hey, call me anytime you need to, all right?"

Haley smiled, "Thanks, Lucas. Good night." She placed her phone on the table next to her couch and let out a deep breath. A knock came to her door and the tour manager opened up, "James, great show tonight."

"Thanks. I really had a--"

"Next show's coming up in a few days. So rest up and it's gonna be full throttle from there."

Haley nodded, "Got it."

"Get some sleep, James." He shut the door and Haley stood up, gathering her things to bring back to her hotel room. She found a piece of paper containing the list of cities she'd always wanted to visit. Grabbing a pen nearby, she put a check mark next to Los Angeles and smiled.


	4. That Last Something That Meant Anything

The loud music filled the club, women in barely-there attire pranced around and dancing provocatively, men either watching from the sidelines or chatting up women they believed were in their league. As for Nathan and Brooke, they were planted at the bar, dropping money on drinks.

"To the BEST summer ever!" Brooke yelled out, slightly slurred, as she threw back a shot of tequila, making a pinched face from the slow, burning sensation in her throat. Nathan showed the same expression, laughing uncontrollably from the craziness of their actions, "God, Brooke, this is ridiculous!"

"Oh, don't be silly. Would you rather be in Tree Hill right at this moment, moping around over your girlfriend OR," signaling the bartender for more shots, "having some fun with me?" A flirtatious smile crept on her face and Nathan smiled back at her. Brooke Davis was probably the sexiest person he's ever met, but for the first time, he was attracted to her, even if it was mostly the alcohol. The bartender handed their drinks and they took the shots once again.

"Whoo!" Brooke let out, as she stood up and grabbed Nathan's hand, "Come on, Clyde, let's tear up the dance floor."

"Uh," Nathan stood up, only slightly resisting, "I can't really dance…"

"Who said _you_ were the one doing all the work?" Again, the sexy smile was on her face, and Nathan succumbed to it. They found their way to the packed dance floor and Nathan watched as she led the way, her dress was flirting its way higher up, and Nathan bit his lip. Brooke turned around and started to dance in front of him, swaying her head to the music, her hair all over her face. _God, she's sexy…_ he thought. He watched her as she girated against him, her rear-end pressed against his pelvis. He lost himself to the music and the guilty pleasure he was receiving from his friend. Brooke closed her eyes as she danced, unaware of the fact that Nathan had given in to her flirtatious ways.

* * *

The smell of her hair, the taste of her skin, the way her body pressed up against him was more than he could take. He wanted her so badly he could barely contain himself. He ran his hands up her legs, slowly finding its way to her thighs…"That feels so good." She said in a soft whisper.

"Ah, I can't wait any longer…" He began to take off her clothes when the sound of a cellphone rang. "Ignore it." He said to her, kissing her neck. The phone stopped, and rang again, the sound piercing her ears, enough to push him off of her, "Hello?"

"Hey Peyton, it's Jake. I hope you're not busy."

"Hey, Jake," She looked over at Lucas, laying down next to her, disappointment plastered all over his face, "It's cool. What's up?"

"I kinda need a babysitter for a couple of hours. I need to go to the store to grab a few things and I don't wanna wake the baby. It already took me a while to put her to sleep."

"Oh."

"But if you're busy, don't worry about it."

"Jake, don't be ridiculous. I'll be right over." Lucas's face showed disapproval as well, but faded away when Peyton hung up the phone and started to put her clothes on again. "Wanna come with me, Luke?"

"Nah," Lucas sat up, straightening his own shirt, "Go ahead, I'm gonna go see my mom at the café." Peyton sensed a little anger in him, "Lucas, don't be mad."

"I'm not mad," He stood up and kissed her forehead, "Just don't forget about me."

"Haha, I'm babysitting Jenny for a couple hours. Wanna meet me at my place later?"

"Sure." He smiled and walked out the door. He searched his pockets for his phone and retrieved it, scrolling through it to find Nathan's name. "Hey, it's Nathan, leave me a message."

Lucas sighed, "Hey Nate, it's me. Where are you, man? Haven't seen you around in a while. Give me a call when you get this. Just wanna make sure you're doing okay." He hung up and made his way towards his mom's café.

* * *

Her head pounded as she clutched the pillow on top of it, hoping it would go away. The sun was shining brightly through the window and silence engulfed the room. She groaned, trying her best to take a look around without adding to the headache she already had. She found herself naked and she quickly scanned the room. Next to her was Nathan, topless with a blanket covering his lower half. _Oh god, I don't even wanna know…_ she sat up, pressing her hand to her head to try and relieve the pain. Nathan slowly woke up and met Brooke's eyes, "Hey you."

"Uh, hi." She answered, "Nathan, did we—"

Nathan looked confused, "I don't—" he blinked his eyes a few times adjusting to the sunlight, "I don't really remember."

"How could you not remember!?" She said loudly, in a panicked manner, "Oh, ew, I can-NOT believe I slept with you."

"Wait. Ew? Thanks, I guess."

"First of all, EW! And second, maybe we DIDN'T have sex because I'm a pretty memorable person." She stood up, covering herself with a blanket, and made her way to the bathroom. As she made her way, stepping on clothes and kicking them off to the side, a plastic condom wrapper laid just at the edge of the bottom of the bed, opened with no condom inside. She squinted her eyes and it suddenly widened when it became evidence, "Ah!" She ran in the bathroom and shut the door.

"Hey you." Peyton greeted Jake as he let her in, "Where is she?"

"She's in the living room." Jake was speaking quietly, "Thanks for coming, Peyton. I really appreciate it."

"Oh, no worries," She walked over to the crib to admire the sleeping Jenny, "I'm happy to do it."

Jake smiled in gratitude, "I'm gonna go to the store and get some diapers, food, and all that. I'll be back as soon as I can." Peyton nodded as Jake walked out the door.

* * *

The drive was quiet up until Nathan was an hour away from Vegas. He glanced at Brooke next to him, a scowl on her face, still angry at the events that preceded this morning.

_Flashback_

_Nathan snaked his hands up Brooke's sides as they hungrily kissed each other inside the hotel room. He shut the door behind him by kicking it and wasted no time taking off his shirt. Brooke lunged at his lips again, tasting alcohol at the same time. Nathan's hands found its way on her shoulder straps and slowly pulled it down, kissing her neck and shoulders. She grabbed the top of his pants and led him to the bedroom, falling on the bed, with him right on top of her. They rid each other of their clothing and found the center of the bed. _

"_Wait, wait," Brooke stopped him suddenly. She crawled to the end of the bed, in search of her purse, pulling out a condom. Nathan laughed at her, "You carry condoms around? Did you expect this to happen or what?"_

_Brooke tossed it at him, "You wanna do this or not?" Nathan ripped it open and tossed the wrapper on the floor. At that moment, Nathan found her lips once again and they were lost in each other's touch._

_End flashback_

"I cannot be-LIEVE this happened!" Brooke suddenly shouted in frustration, interrupting the silence in the car.

"We were drunk-"

"So not the point!"

"Look, it's not like we're gonna do it again, so relax."

"Relax? I am STUCK—" Brooke adjusted herself in the seat, facing Nathan, "with YOU all summer and you want ME to relax?"

Nathan shook his head, "I don't understand why you're mad. This trip was your idea! If you wanna go back to Tree Hill, RIGHT NOW, I will gladly turn this car around and we can go back to you pining for Lucas while he continues to have sex with Peyton. How does that sound?"

Brooke looked shocked, "Whatever!" She faced the front, "Just drive and don't talk to me."

Nathan wanted to laugh at the situation. He wanted to laugh even more that Brooke, of all people, was taking this so seriously. He glanced at her again, the sun hitting her face just right, her chocolate brown hair tied in a ponytail, battling the heat of summer. He knew she was gorgeous, it was something he never denied, but he never saw Brooke any more than a friend. Even that made him wonder. But despite Haley being his girlfriend, or whoever she is right now, he was fighting another feeling.

"I lied." Nathan said.

Brooke kept her eyes facing forward, "About what?"

"About not remembering if we slept together."

She looked confused, but refused to face him. "So what's your point?"

"My point is…" He wanted to say that he enjoyed it, not just as another romp in the sack, but it was the first time he'd ever felt _anything_. But he didn't. "Whatever happened, already did. So let's just look forward to L.A."


	5. OneEighty By Summer

Jake walked back in the house, finding Peyton holding baby Jenny in her arms as she flipped through the television. "Hey! I'm sorry, she started crying so I decided to just have her join me watch some TV."

Jake smiled and placed the groceries in the kitchen, "That's fine, Peyton. Did you have lunch yet?" Peyton glanced at the clock reading 3:30 pm and shook her head, "I actually didn't even realize it was already way past noon." She stood up, carrying Jenny with her and handed her to Jake.

"Hey, if you haven't yet, would you like to join me? Or us?" He asked her.

Peyton's mouth began to open, ready to say she'd rather be with Lucas right now, but she ignored the feeling and nodded, "Lunch would be awesome."

Haley admired the view of her hotel room, overlooking West Hollywood. A knock on her door came and Chris Keller walked in, "Nice day for some sight seeing, right?"

Haley nodded, "Yeah, it looks great." She looked out the window, "I think I would like to explore a little bit."

Chris sat on the bed, "I was actually talking about me, but sure, I meant that too." He picked up her guitar that was laying on the bed and strummed a few notes, "Let's go out and have some lunch…" He sang, to the tune of _When the Stars Go Blue_.

Haley laughed. Yeah, he was arrogant, but he still had some charm in him. "All right, I pick the place, you pay."

"Haha." He put the guitar down. "Seriously?"

* * *

"I….am….STARVING!" Brooke exclaimed, scanning the streets of Sunset Blvd. "I can't believe we actually made it here."

Nathan was trying his best not to look around too long for fear he'd get into an accident, "God, Brooke, we're cross country. Who would've thought a bunch of kids and some fake IDs would make it."

Brooke smiled, "Ha, our summer's just begun." She was happy. You could tell by the look on her face that it seemed she'd forgotten her troubles, even if it took a cross country trip and a few, maybe dozen drinks, and sleeping with her ex's brother. She was still happy. "But seriously, I'm starving. Let's explore one of these trendy restaurants. What do you say?"

"All right," Nathan replied, "You pick, I pay."

* * *

Haley and Chris walked into an Italian restaurant, close to their hotel. "You couldn't have picked a cheaper spot." Chris said. Haley laughed as they were seated towards the back of the restaurant, "Oh come on, you seriously think I'm gonna take you up on your offer and go for fast food?"

"Wait, wait, I didn't offer to pay," He defended himself, "You TOLD me I had to pay."

"Oh," Haley replied, remembering what she'd said earlier, "Well, that's beside the point." She scanned the menu as Chris gave her a sour look, "I think I'm just gonna get a drink."

"Are you serious?"

"I don't really have much money, you know. Contrary to what people may believe, I am not that rich. Just good looking."

Haley rolled her eyes, "Contrary to what YOU may believe, you are not that good looking. And besides, no wonder you don't have a girlfriend. You're too cheap to spring for a date!"

Chris laughed slightly, "I resent that, Haley James! I may not have a girlfriend, but I do go out on dates. Like, right now, for example."

"Oh, this is SO not a date," She smiled, "This is me feeling sorry for you because you DON'T have a girlfriend."

Chris watched her as she continued looking at the menu, "Whatever you wanna believe, small town." Haley shook her head. She was used to Chris Keller's egotistical ways, but she didn't mind. As far as she was concerned, he was her only friend, other than Lucas. She figured she might as well enjoy the company while she's not home. She continued reading the menu, unable to decide what she wanted to get.

Just as she was about to ask Chris for some suggestions, a familiar figure walked in the restaurant. The figure of a tall and athletic man walked in, looking around the restaurant in a less than admiring manner. _Nathan…?_ Haley thought to herself. His face formed a frown, and she thought he'd looked straight at her. Just as she started to see more quickly who he really was, a smaller and slender figure appeared from behind and stood beside him. "Ok, seriously, this place is SO my style." She knew that raspy voice.

"Are you trying to milk my money away?" Nathan's voice became clearer as well. Haley watched as the two were seated farther from them, but enough for Haley to observe what they were doing.

"Come on, Nate, you can't deprive me of what I want." Brooke placed a hand on Nathan's arm, obviously flirting from Haley's point of view, "And I want a reaaaally good plate of pasta with tons of pesto cream sauce and maybe some sausage to go along with it." She winked and laughed.

Haley's face grew in disgust, but quickly saddened. Chris had been oblivious to what was going on, but caught the look on Haley's face when she looked back down. "Don't tell me you're sad because you can't pick." Haley ignored him and pretended to read the menu. _Brooke Davis? What the hell were they doing here together?_ _He doesn't know where I am…are they…seeing—No, it can't be. Nathan and Brooke can't stand each other. Wait, does Lucas know what's going on? Is this why no one's heard from Nathan…because he's all the way in L.A. with Brooke? _The sound of their voices could be heard from across the room, laughing together. Haley couldn't believe at what she was seeing. Chris whirled around to find where Haley's eyes had locked into and found the two teenagers across the room, "Well, well," he turned to Haley, "I guess he didn't miss you after all."

* * *

"Wow," Peyton said, placing a fork down, "I haven't had an awesome home-cooked meal in a really LONG time."

Jake smiled, "Well, I don't wanna brag…" Peyton laughed and stood up, "Here I'll do the dishes."

"No way," Jake stood up right after her, "You're the guest. Or, babysitter. Whichever. But you're not washing the dishes."

"That's not fair. You cooked, so the least I can do is wash the dishes for you."

"Are we seriously gonna argue about this?" Jake asked her, taking her plate from her, "I'm washing the dishes." Peyton followed him into the kitchen just as her cell phone rang, "Hey Luke."

"Hey, Peyton, look I won't be able to meet up with you later."

"Why?"

"I need to close the café for my mom. She's not feeling so well so I told her she should get some rest at home. Maybe I'll come by your place tomorrow morning?"

Peyton shrugged, "Sure, Luke, I'm just about done babysitting."

"Give baby Jenny a kiss for me. I'll give you a call when I get off tonight?"

"I'll look forward to it." She hung up the phone and placed it in her back pocket and continued to head towards the kitchen, "Okay, you wash, I'll dry."

* * *

Brooke leaned back and placed a hand on her stomach, "I'm so stuffed I don't even think I can breathe."

Nathan shook his head, "I can't believe you ate that whole thing. You eat that much and you still have that amazing body?"

Brooke almost blushed, but smiled, "Well, I do work out you know. Don't believe the hype, I'm not really blessed with this body. I have to work on it."

Nathan was impressed, "You work out? I didn't realize cheering was an exercise."

"Hey!" Brooke tossed her napkin at him, "I run. I bet I can outrun you any day."

"Oh really? Do you not realize who I am?"

"Hmm, a cocky bastard?"

Nathan laughed, "I can't survive those workouts Whitey makes us do without working out on my own." He tossed her napkin back at her, "But if you're calling me out…"

Brooke rolled her eyes, "Oh, please, you'd probably lose yourself at the sight of my ass while you're trailing behind me." She paused. "Oh wait! You already did that!" The two broke out in laughter as they got ready to leave the restaurant. "So where exactly are we gonna be staying while we're here in L.A.?"

Nathan walked beside her as they strolled along the sidewalk, admiring shops and restaurants, "Can I be honest with you?"

"Sure."

"Well, there's a couple reasons why I chose L.A., aside from overhearing a couple truckers at that diner a while back."

"Wait, you decided our destination based on some trucker's conversations? Great. We really didn't have a plan, did we?"

Nathan chuckled, "I have an aunt, that lives out here. She's my mom's older sister and she's really cool. I gave her a call right after we left that diner, so she's pretty much expecting us."

Brooke was surprised and wrapped her arm around his, "Gee, Nathan Scott, you are definitely full of surprises. It's a good thing, too, considering I don't think hotel rooms are exactly our thing…" Nathan laughed as the two continued to walk and explore what L.A. had to offer them for that afternoon.

* * *

Haley paced back and forth in her hotel room, cell phone in hand, and Chris Keller hanging out on the bed flipping through the TV. "Could you not walk in front of the TV? I'm trying to find something to watch over here."

"Could you not be in my room and go to your own instead?"

Chris replied, "Ooh, feisty. I guess finding out your ex-boyfriend is seeing someone new brings out the bad girl in you."

Haley threw a pillow at him, "Seriously, get out!" Chris didn't bother to argue with her and rushed out of the room. "And he is NOT my ex-boyfriend!" She called out after him, shutting the door. "At least, I thought we were still together…" She muttered to herself, still playing with her cell phone in her hand. The sudden ring of it took her by surprise, "Hey Luke!" Her voice was cheery, in a shaky manner.

"Hey, rock star. How you holdin' up on tour?"

"Oh my god, you wouldn't BELIEVE what I just went through today!" She was gonna tell him what she saw. This is her best friend and he deserved to know that his ex-girlfriend was in town with her current boyfriend, or whatever he was.

"You're tellin' me. I have to close the café tonight because someone decided to be famous."

Haley smiled, "I miss you too, Luke." Then again, maybe she wouldn't tell him right away. Maybe there's a perfectly good explanation as to why Brooke and Nathan were in L.A. together. There has to be. Wait, does that mean…

"Hey, I got a quick question for you."

"Go for it."

"Where exactly is that High Flyers basketball camp at? I mean, I've heard Nathan talk about it before but I didn't really know where it was."

Lucas quickly answered, "Usually it's in Los Angeles—"

"Oh, good!" Haley let out a sigh of relief, only to be interrupted by Lucas.

"But this year, it's being held in Vancouver. They're trying out something new. Why do you ask?"

_Great.._Haley thought, "Just…curious. Have you spoken to Brooke lately?"

"Actually, I've been calling her but it's like she just disappeared. My mom told me not to worry and that she's probably just trying to take time for herself, so I dunno. I guess I just always worry about her, wondering if she's safe or not."

"Ha, I wouldn't worry," Haley started, "Knowing Brooke, she's probably off with another man by now, stealing boyfriends."

Lucas was confused, "Uh, haha, okay. What's happened to you today that you said I wouldn't believe?"

Haley fought with herself to tell him, but after a few seconds of silence, she decided against it, "Oh, nothing. Just—sitting through lunch with the ever so popular Chris Keller."

"Wow, you do deserve some kind of merit for that."

"I know, right!" She laughed, but still had Nathan in the back of her mind. "I gotta go," Lucas said, "I gotta do some cleaning up over here. Don't forget about us here in Tree Hill."

"Funny." She hung up and put the phone down on the bed. So if Nathan's not going to High Flyers, what the hell was he doing in L.A….with Brooke Davis? Haley laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Thoughts of their relationship ran through her mind. They weren't very serious…yet, but she'd thought that he'd be waiting for her when she got back home at the end of the summer. Sure she asked him, but even though he didn't really answer her, the look in his eyes told her that he would wait for her. She contemplated on whether she wanted to find the real reason why he was in L.A., but catching her guitar on the other side of the bed, she picked up and lost herself once again in music.

* * *

Nathan and Brooke stood at the doorstep of his aunt's Beverly Hills mansion. Brooke stood next to him as he rang the doorbell and a blonde, petite woman opened the door, a smile on her face and arms extended for a hug, "Nathan Royal Scott," she said. Brooke made a face and tried to hold her laugh in, "Come here and give your aunt a hug!" Nathan laughed and hugged her, "God, I missed you Aunt Leigh!" He released her from their embrace and pointed towards Brooke, "This is a friend of mine, Brooke Davis."

"My, my," Leigh placed a hand on her hip, "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Brooke smiled and gave her a hug as well, "Nice to meet you, Aunt Leigh."

"Well, don't stand there, you're letting all the cool air out. Come in." Leigh gestured for the two teens to enter her house.

"I hope you don't mind us crashing here for the summer." Nathan called out to Leigh, who was making her way upstairs.

"Don't be silly. I'd love the company. Aside from Riley and Bayley, I don't really get anyone around here."

Brooke whispered to Nathan as she followed upstairs, "And they are?"

"Her dogs."

"Ah." Brooke nodded as Leigh opened a bedroom door, "Brooke, this is your room. I hope it's big enough?" Brooke's mouth nearly dropped as she put her luggage down by the doorway, "I think this room is as big as Tree Hill itself."

Leigh smiled and continued down the hallway, "And Nathan, you sleep here. I don't know how my little sister has raised you but you are definitely not sharing a room with someone of the female species." Nathan laughed and put his bags in his own room. Leigh continued to give them the tour of her mansion, "So I hope you two will be comfortable here in your stay. I'll have dinner ready in a couple of hours, so go ahead and make yourselves at home, all right?" She gave Nathan a pat on the back, "It's great to have you here, Nate."

"Likewise, Aunt Leigh." He smiled at her as she walked down the stairs. His eyes caught Brooke's down the hallway, "Not so bad, right?"

Brooke nodded and held in her laughter, "Your middle name's Royal? God, you ARE a Scott!" He chased after her as she dashed down the stairs. She ran into the living room and into the backyard and he caught her from behind, tickling her, "Okay! Okay! I give!" She yelled out. "It's just so—cocky."

Nathan rolled his eyes, "Whatever. There's a pool, wanna go for a swim?"

"Uh, do you really think it's a good idea to be half naked around each other."

Nathan nodded, "I agree," he wrapped his arms around her waist and jumped into the pool. Brooke screamed from the cold that engulfed her body. She surfaced from under the water and splashed Nathan in the face, "Oh, you are SO dead!" She jumped on him and the two wrestled in the pool, fully clothed, and laughing uncontrollably.

"Okay, all right!" Nathan yelled out and Brooke calmed herself down, leaning against the side of the pool. "So, tell me, what's your aunt doing all by herself in a huge place like this?"

"Well," Nathan wiped some excess water from his face, "She married this man who was an heir to some fortune. He was sick for a while and eventually gave in to the illness. She fell apart so my mom had to fly back here for a while and take care of her. After he died, he left her everything, including a few houses in Europe, all over the US, and in other countries. Not only that, my grandparents had money saved for her as well. So she's been well off."

"God," Brooke shook her head in amazement, "I wonder why she never remarried."

"Beats me. Then again, why risk it, right?"

"What, losing half of her possessions if ever she divorced?"

"No," Nathan spoke quietly, "Having your heart broken again."


	6. Memories of Us

Brooke moved around in the pool, ignoring the fact that she was still fully clothed. The sun was blazing hot and the pool glistened from its rays. She looked over at Nathan who had gotten out of the water and was dangling his legs in the pool, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"About what?"

Brooke shrugged, "Haley." There was a long pause. Brooke searched Nathan's face for an answer, but all he had was an expression similar to a child who just found out that Santa Claus wasn't real. Brooke took that as a 'no' so she didn't bother to push any further. She extended her arms out and gestured Nathan to pull her out of the pull. She sat next to him, both their legs still dangling in the water, and she placed an arm around his shoulders, "Sorry, buddy."

He wasn't sure about Haley. He loved her, he really did. But the time away from Tree Hill and actually being productive rather than lock himself in the apartment truly helped him heal from her departure. He missed her too, but right now, he wasn't gonna spend summer pining for someone who may or may not come back. His thoughts were interrupted when Brooke sighed, "I miss Lucas."

Nathan didn't know if that added to his already wounded self, but he felt something. Definitely felt something when those words escaped her lips. _How could she miss him after what he did to her?_ He thought. He cursed in his mind his big brother, but pulled her in closer to him, "I know." That was all he could say to her. Before she could reply, the backdoor opened and Leigh called out, "Dinner's ready, kids!" She let out a little laugh when the two turned around, "Wow, I never thought I'd actually say that!" Nathan and Brooke got up and headed back inside, "I'm gonna go change really quickly." Brooke dashed upstairs with Nathan right behind her as they both got out of their wet clothing.

* * *

Leigh, Brooke, and Nathan gathered around the enormous dining room and began to have dinner. "Thanks, Aunt Leigh, everything looks so good." Nathan complimented her. Leigh smiled back and began, "So, tell me, what exactly is going on over there in that little town of yours."

Brooke and Nathan looked at each other, silently deciding who was gonna say what, but Brooke answered her anyway, "Oh, you know, the same old. Tree Hill Ravens dominated this season, of course, because of this guy over here. Oh, and did I mention his big brother dumped me to be with my best friend?"

Nathan and Leigh's jaws nearly dropped at Brooke's honesty. "Well," Leigh said, surprised, "I'm sorry to hear that, Brooke. How is your brother, Nate? I didn't know you two were in touch."

Nathan shrugged, "There's a lot you don't know, trust me. And we're not really in touch. He plays for the Ravens too, but other than passing me the ball, we don't interact much."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Nate," Leigh knew of Lucas and Karen, even before Deb did. She'd found out what Dan did to Karen when she herself used to live in Tree Hill, and confronted Dan about it. Little did she know that her little sister, Deb, would've been his next target. "But take it from someone who doesn't have much family around, it's nice to have someone on your side."

Nathan nodded but dismissed the idea. He didn't care for Lucas much, other than the fact that he did try to be nice to him just for Haley's sake. Other than that, he didn't bother forming a relationship with him. Brooke was just listening and continued to eat her food while the other two conversed about life in Tree Hill. Her mind started racing about Lucas again and what he could possibly be doing right now with Peyton. Then her eyes met Nathan's, who was bragging about how he never pictured spending the summer with Brooke and a smile crawled on her face. Nathan was ridiculously attractive, if not more than his brother. He was the textbook of tall, dark, and handsome. Sure, Lucas had a way with words, but when those words are recycled, they don't mean so much anymore. With Nathan, he had such poise to him, a confidence easily mistaken for arrogance because sometimes, it _was _arrogance. But Nathan had a different character to him; he was genuine. She admired that about him. Besides that, he was even more fun to be with, which surprised her. Aside from the Vegas activities, she was really enjoying the time she's spent with him so far. Yeah, aside from the Vegas activities.

"It's kinda helped me deal about Haley too." She heard Nathan tell Leigh. Brooke found herself rolling her eyes. She didn't know why, but she just did. Leigh and Nathan continued having their conversation as she continued to eat her food.

* * *

Brooke was helping Leigh in the kitchen with the dishes while Nathan ran around in the backyard with the dogs. Brooke smiled when she saw Nathan almost get tackled by the two German Shepherds. Leigh caught the smile on her face, "So, tell me about you and Nathan?"

Brooke was startled, as if she got caught with something, "Me and Nathan? Oh, there's no me and Nathan. We're just friends."

"Great place to start…" Leigh was sensing something between the two, "And don't think I didn't see the way you two looked at each other during dinner."

"You're being totally delusional," Brooke started, almost shocked that she said that. She turned to face Leigh to make sure she didn't insult her and when Leigh smiled back, she continued, "He's obviously still in love with Haley."

"Yeah, obviously." Leigh retorted sarcastically.

Brooke shrugged her shoulders, "Plus, we are SO not ready for relationships. Especially with each other. I have Lucas, and he has Haley."

"Past tense, sweetie," Leigh corrected her, "Lucas and Haley should be referred to in the past tense. You two wouldn't be here if you _did _have them."

Brooke nodded. _Crap, she's right._ Brooke ignored it anyway and tried to defended herself, "Nathan and I aren't right for each other. It would just be so awkward and it's just not right."

"You know, sometimes you can find love in the most unexpected places…and even person."

Brooke scoffed, "Love? I don't think my heart can take any more of that." She looked back out at Nathan, who was now rolling in the grass with the two dogs, "I don't think he can either."

* * *

_Flashback_

_"Haley, what am I supposed to do when you're not around?" Nathan was frustrated. The look on his face had desperation and anger all over it. Haley was pacing back and forth in his apartment and eventually threw her hands up in the air, "Nathan, it's only for a few months! I swear, I'll be back before you know it. You have High Flyers this summer too, don't you?"_

_Nathan was glaring at her, "It's not the same."_

_"Why? You can leave for the summer and I'm supposed to be the one stuck back home in Tree Hill? Waiting? Is that what this is about, Nathan?" Haley's voice sounded different from what Nathan was used to. Tutor Girl wasn't so sweet at this moment. Nathan shook his head, "No. My point is, you're running off to be famous with that chump Chris just like that. Where do I get a say in this? I thought we were gonna make decisions together."_

_"Nathan, this is __my dream..." Haley started, but Nathan turned away from her out of anger, "You know that music is important to me. This is something that'll come around once in a lifetime." She walked towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist, turning him to face her, "I __will come back, Nate. I'll come back and I'll be right here in these arms of yours. I promise. But promise me that you'll go to High Flyers this summer and go after your dreams." Nathan didn't respond and just looked her in the eyes. "Nathan, I'll come back. I'll come back for you. For us. I need to know that you'll wait for me." He sighed and wrapped his arms around her tiny body. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes, wishing that this was all a dream._

_End flashback_

Haley's eyes opened up and she squinted from the lights of her hotel room. She glanced to her right and the digital clock read 7:34pm. She shot up as soon as a knock came on the door and Chris appeared, "Hey, small town, I don't know if you're aware, but you're playing tonight."

"I know, I'm sorry," Haley hurried to gather her things, "I took a nap and it went longer than planned." She followed Chris out the door as she frantically checked her watch and marched down the hallway. Chris tried to keep up with her panicked walk and eventually grabbed her by the arm, halting her, "Hey, hey, relax."

Haley nodded and took a deep breath, "Sorry, I'm just, ah. I'm so nervous!"

"Why? You're awesome. You've played in front of people before."

"I know, it's just--I dunno. I guess it's the adrenaline rush. I'm just so excited to play at the House of Blues!" She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck for a hug. He hugged her back and released her, "All right, then let's go kill it."

* * *

Nathan sat up in his bed, back leaning against the headboard. He was flipping through the television when a knock came to his door. Brooke walked in, her hair in a ponytail, and she was wearing a white tank top with silk red pajama pants. The girl oozed gorgeous, no matter what time of day, and with or without any make-up. "Hey buddy." She walked over to him and sat on the bed, facing him, "What are you up to?"

"Nothing, checking out this TV."

Brooke smiled, "Hey, Nate. You know, I know I never really said this to you but I'm really sorry about Haley."

Nathan made a face but didn't look at her, "Why? You don't even like her."

"Hey, that's not entirely true. She can be...tolerable. Besides," Brooke placed a hand on his hand, "I know how it feels to have your heart broken. I know people look at me like I'm the devil in designer clothing, but I do have feelings too. Lucas was the first guy I actually loved and--well, you know how that story ended. It's just something I would never wish on anyone--not even my worst enemy. So I just wanted to say that I'm sorry she left but if you need anyone to talk to, I'm here. Or better yet, I'm just down the hall for the next couple months." She chuckled and he smiled at her.

"Thanks, Brooke," Nathan was still holding her hand, "Don't worry, it's his loss." He patted the space next to him on the bed, "Anyway, it doesn't matter now, right? We're not in Tree Hill and we don't have to worry about either of them anymore."

Brooke shrugged but crawled on the bed to sit next to him, "Yeah, until the end of summer. Then when we do go back to Tree Hill and it's hell all over again. Seeing Lucas sucking face with that backstabbing bitch? No thanks."

"You never know," Nathan started, "A lot can happen in 2 months." She looked at Nathan, who didn't keep his eyes off the television. He suddenly seemed nonchalant about everything, not the same guy from several days ago pouting and moaning about why Haley left him. She didn't know whether he was really getting over Haley or whether he was just pushing it aside for now. Whatever it was, it seemed to be doing him pretty well. She couldn't stand to see an angry Nathan anyway. She turned her attention back to the TV, crossed her arms, and leaned against the headboard.

* * *

Haley had a big smile on her face. The crowd was great at the House of Blues and although she was terrified performing in front of everyone, it was all worth it in the end to hear the applause and cheers. She was exhausted and it was midnight, signaling her to either walk back to the hotel room or go out with the crew for some drinks. She chose the former.

As she dragged her tired body in the hallway towards her room, she reached for her cell phone.

"You have a habit of being a night creature lately, you know that?" The voice on the other end never failed to put a smile on her face, even if it was the sleepy tone.

"I'm sorry, Luke," she continued walking down the hallway, "But I just played House of Blues tonight and it was awesome!"

Lucas's voice cheered up, "That's great, Hales! You coming home anytime soon?"

Haley shook her head and rolled her eyes, "You can ask me that question a million times and it will still be the same answer. No, Lucas."

"Hey, it doesn't hurt to try. Maybe if I ask enough, you'd give in. You know, kinda like when Nathan begged you to tutor him..." Lucas was being half-serious, half-sarcastic. Haley reached her door and walked inside the room, putting her guitar down and flopping on the bed.

"You know, you should have your own tour, trying to be funny like that," She chuckled, "Anyway, I called you to let you know that I'm okay, and I'm having fun, and it's great to be out here." _Oh yeah, and your brother and ex-girlfriend are in the same city as I am...together._

"Good for you, Haley," Lucas was getting sleepy again, "But unlike you rock stars, some of us do have to wake up early in the morning for a regular job." Haley laughed and they said their goodnights and goodbyes. She hung up, but still held onto her phone. Nathan's name came up as she was mindlessly scrolling through her dialed calls list. Her last call to him was 3 weeks ago, when she asked him to meet her at the cafe after she got off work. Her heart sank at the thought of not calling Nathan when she went on tour; she didn't have the time and she didn't think he wanted to talk to her. Without thinking about it, her finger pressed the Call button and in a matter of seconds, the sound of ringing could be heard through the phone.

"_Hey, it's Nathan. Leave me a message."_

Haley sat, frozen. Not long after, the beep came on, cueing her to leave a message. She inhaled through her mouth and began, "Nathan, it's me. Um, I don't know how you're doing right now, but I was just calling to say that I miss you. Give me a call, okay?" She hung up, trying to calm herself down. Her voice was shaking when she left the message and she took a deep breath, unsure of what she had done. She didn't know why nervousness suddenly came over her; Nathan's still her boyfriend, right? _Yeah, the boyfriend you never called_. She was beginning to think it was a mistake. Maybe they weren't together anymore and Brooke was his new girlfriend. _No way, they can't stand each other..._ Haley was confused more than ever. She didn't know if it was all a reality or a figment of her imagination. But if it was reality, what's stopping her from telling Lucas?

* * *

_Flashback_

_"You pinky-promised!" The sharp tone of her voice was enough to make Nathan run to her and give her the necklace. She was pouting at him, angry and sad at the same time. Nathan waited for her to smile again as she took the necklace in her hand, admired it, and stuck it in her pocket._

_"That's not fair, you're not even gonna wear it?" Nathan asked her as she began to walk away, "Hey, where's mine!" _

_She was walking towards her house and waved her arm for him to follow her, "Come on, it's in my room." He ran after her as she stepped inside her house, running up the stairs to her bedroom. He didn't like her room much, but she was girly and he learned to accept it. He spent much of his days at her house watching movies in her room together, that is, when his father wasn't harassing him about playing a sport rather than hanging out with girls. He found her standing next to her closet, and she turned around to face him, holding a basketball in her hands. It wasn't wrapped, but a gift-ribbon was taped on top of the ball. She tossed it at him, "Here," and he caught it, a wide-smile appeared on his face, "don't say I never gave you nothin'."_

_He bounced the ball a couple of times and placed it on the bed. She walked over to him, dimples on her cute face, and he hugged her, "You're my best friend forever, B."_

_She hugged him back and smiled, "You and me, always, butt-face." This was probably their best Christmas ever._

_And their only Christmas together._

_End flashback_

Nathan suddenly woke up from his dream and he propped himself up with his elbow, trying to fully wake himself. Aside from the dogs barking outside, the house was pretty quiet. He reached for his phone on the night stand and it alerted him to a new voicemail. Haley's name came up and he froze. It was the first call she'd given him since she left and a mixture of anger and excitement surged through him. A soft moan came from next to him and he put his phone down in surprise. He turned next to him to find Brooke turning to face him, eyes still shut and what appeared to be a smile on her face. Her dimples were slightly showing and he smiled. A knock on the door started him and Leigh's voice boomed on the other side, "I know there better not be a Brooke Davis sleeping in your bed, Nathan!"

Brooke's eyes flew open and caught Nathan's face, trying to hold in a laugh, "Uh, no, she's not here--maybe you wanna check the pool..."

"Tell her to get her butt up from the bed. And the next time she wants to sneak into your room, don't leave her bedroom door open." Leigh began walking away, but called out, "And there's someone cleaning the pool right now!"

Brooke let out a nervous laugh, "Oh god, that's a little embarrassing...you think she's pissed?"

"No," Nathan started to get up, "But I'd hurry my ass up if I were you. She doesn't like to be defied like this."

Brooke rolled her eyes and got up as well, "This isn't entirely my fault, you know. You asked me to watch TV with you and it's not my fault that ESPN bored the hell out of me that I fell asleep." She straightened herself up and ran to the door, hurrying to the bathroom to fix herself up.

* * *

_Flashback_

_"I think you're too short." Brooke looked up at the basketball hoop that stood 10 feet high from the ground. Nathan was next to her, holding the basketball in his hand, dribbling it. _

_"Watch, I'm gonna be so tall, B. I'm gonna be able to dunk this ball!" Nathan's voice was enthusiastic, and he shot the ball, missing it by a few inches. Brooke caught it and held the ball in her hands, "Yeah, right. In your dreams." She bounced the ball back at him and placed her hands on her hips, "So are you gonna be like the ones we see on TV? That would be cool."_

_"Yeah! Then I'll say hi to you in the camera."_

_"What are you gonna say?"_

_"Hmm," Nathan tilted his head slightly as if he were thinking of an idea, "I'll say, I have the coolest best friend in the world and she's the reason why I'm really good at basketball!" The two laughed as he passed her the ball, starting a game of HORSE. The river court was their getaway from everyone, even if it was only for a short time._

_End flashback_

Nathan looked around the house and found Brooke sitting on the couch, flipping through magazines that were sitting on the coffee table in front of her. Nathan walked up to her and sighed, "I had the weirdest dream last night."

She didn't take her eyes off the magazine, "If it's a wet dream, please spare me."

Nathan laughed, "No, remember that time you gave me my first basketball?"

Brooke stopped reading and turned to him, "When we were seven?"

"Yeah."

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"It was out of the blue, but I dreamt it last night." Nathan leaned back on the couch and Brooke stared at him, "And you're telling me because?"

"I'm just saying. I mean, we used to be best friends, remember?"

"Nathan, that was such a long time ago, I can barely even remember." Brooke turned her attention back to the magazine, "I don't even know the point of you bringing it up." She was a little annoyed about the conversation and was hoping he'd drop the topic. Nathan shrugged instead, "We just used to be together all the time, that's all. You know? It's like...what changed?"

Brooke quietly replied, "_You _did." Nathan was surprised and he nudged her arm to look at him again, "What?"

"Oh, please, don't even pretend you don't know what happened, Nathan." Brooke stood up and stormed off, leaving Nathan sitting there with no shock whatsoever on his face. He knew what happened to their friendship. And it took a long time for both of them to try and forget. But she was right, it _was _his fault.

* * *


	7. The Blonde Hyena

**Note: A month has passed by. Nathan and Brooke are still at his aunt's place, Lucas and Peyton are still together but she helps take care of Jenny, Haley is still on tour headed to the east coast.**

Brooke Davis took one last look at herself in the mirror and sighed. Her date with Brian wasn't going as well as she'd hoped, or even dreamed of. Who would've thought this handsome model-slash-actor wannabe was gonna be so boring? Oh, right. Model-slash-actor wannabe. If she had to listen to him tell her about why he deserves his own director's chair at a commercial filming, she was gonna dig that fork in her eye. And twist it. Hard. Before walking away, she stared at herself, and furrowed her brows. She was contemplating crawling out the bathroom window or just running out the front door. Then again, how was she gonna get back to Leigh's house? This isn't Tree Hill where you can just walk across the street and suddenly you're home. This was L.A., and from all the stories she's heard, she wasn't gonna try and hitch a ride anytime soon. She mustered up everything inside her to walk out of the bathroom and head back to the table.

Brian was sitting there, playing with his Blackberry, oblivious to the fact that a gorgeous brunette was making her way back to him. She sat down and stared at him. _Moron_. She thought to herself. He finally looked up at her with the biggest dumb-ass smile on his face, "I just got a text from my agent and I got cast in another commercial! Fruit of the Loom, here I come!"

Brooke made a disgusted face and pushed her chair back, "Ok, this is ridiculous." She'd had enough. There was no way she was gonna sit through this any longer. She stood up and walked away, fumbling with her cell phone. She could hear him pleading behind her to come back but despite all eyes on her, she wanted to get out of there. _I am so not this desperate!_ She took her phone out and dialed his number. Yeah, he's definitely gonna laugh at her this time.

* * *

Nathan pulled up in front of Brooke, who was standing near the restaurant, near enough so she has witnesses if she ever got mugged, but far enough so Brian couldn't see her. She opened the door and got in the passenger side, not looking at Nathan but feeling his eyes fixated on her pathetic self. Nathan drove off when she settled in and she kept her eyes on the road, ignoring what she could sense from Nathan's vibe that he really wanted to make a comment about another failed date of hers.

He pulled up in the driveway and she quickly got out, making her way to the front door. Before he could even get out of the car, she'd already disappeared inside. _Damn, that was quick._ He hurried inside and found Brooke standing in the living room, "Go ahead, give it to me. You have 5 seconds."

"Give you what?" Nathan approached her, and by this time, the trademark hands on her waist gesture had appeared. "Your speech about how I must be so desperate that I'm going out on dates with these idiots that I meet."

Nathan shook his head. He didn't say anything, but he wanted to laugh at how angry she seemed. "We all have bad dates." He walked towards the couch and turned on the TV. He sat down and he could tell her eyes was still on him, squinting so much as if that was gonna give her anything more. "But in your case, you've had 3 bad dates in a row."

Brooke pouted and sat down next to him, "Why, oh WHY are all these guys so...stupid? Is it really hard to find someone that's intelligent, funny, drives a really great car, lets ME talk about myself, and so irresistibly hot? Am I asking for too much?" She crossed her arms in frustration, "I am SO done with guys."

Nathan didn't think it was pathetic of her to go out on dates and try to have some fun. What he found pathetic was that someone as beautiful as Brooke was stooping so low to go out on dates with guys she found through the internet. Yes, the internet. Leigh had introduced her to the world of internet dating; a world where she could be someone different (but still obviously hot) and meet guys to have fun with during her summer break. A world that gave her 3 miserable dates with a surfer who had no table manners whatsoever, an enthusiastic eBay obsessed seller, and model-slash-actor wannabe. No wonder Leigh is alone. Nathan said nothing else and in a weird way, Brooke appreciated it. She sat next to him in silence, still wearing her short red dress and gold heels, while Nathan donned basketball shorts and a Ravens shirt. Unlike Brooke, Nathan rarely even left the house. Neither of them said anything further as they both watched TV.

ESPN again. _Great. _She crossed her legs and succumbed to the idea of watching vintage basketball games. Nathan was trying to make himself more comfortable in his seat, when Leigh burst in through the front door. "Oh, I'm glad you two are here!" The excitement in her voice let them know that something big was coming up. Leigh made her way towards them, her long summer dress flowing as she did so, "Ed & Julie from across the street are hosting yet another summer barbeque tomorrow at their place and you two are coming with me. Brooke, you're gonna help me with making some food to bring and Nathan, you just..." she scanned him up and down, "make sure you clean yourself up, okay?" She made her way upstairs, humming a cheery song.

Brooke turned to Nathan, "I don't know how to cook."

Nathan laughed, "Well, come tomorrow, you're gonna learn."

* * *

_Flashback_

_"You burned my Pop Tarts?!" Brooke stormed into the kitchen to find Nathan holding a plate with 4 dark brown used-to-be-tasty strawberry Pop Tarts laying lifeless._

_"I forgot?" Nathan picked one up and took a bite, "it's still good!"_

_Brooke took the plate from him, "You're such a dork, butt-face. Now what are we gonna eat?"_

_"You can't cook?"_

_"I'm only seven!" Brooke searched the refrigerator for something to eat. Like always, her parents weren't home so she was left to fend for herself. But in this case, she needed to find food for Nathan too. A carton of ice cream caught her eye in the freezer and she grabbed it, "Cookie dough?"_

_Nathan shrugged, "Whatever." _

_End flashback_

"Do you think she'll be able to tell the difference between home-made and store-bought cherry cobbler?" Brooke asked, showing her frustrations as she beat the ingredients with an electric mixer. "I am so not meant for the kitchen."

Nathan laughed from across the room. Watching Brooke become Leigh's kitchen slave entertained him as well as allowed him to spend a little more time with her. It seemed as if she was avoiding him since he mentioned the dream he had about their childhood, so being in the same room with her was a nice turn. He continued eating his breakfast when she plopped down in the seat across from him, "What are you eating?"

"Pop Tarts."

She grinned, "Give me one." He handed her one and as she took a bite, Leigh walked into the kitchen. Brooke's eyes widened and she stood up immediately, "I am JUST about to pour it into the pan." She dropped the Pop Tart and made her way back to the counter, making a face at Nathan to show much she dreaded this baking situation. Leigh gestured to Nathan, "I'm gonna go take a shower upstairs. Mindy's gonna come by to pick up some lemons, so the bag's in the fridge and just hand it to her when she comes, 'kay?"

"Sure, no problem." Nathan stood up as Leigh disappeared into the living room. "You almost done here?" Brooke shot him a look, "Do I LOOK like I'm almost done? Maybe it would've been easier if you didn't just sit on your ass there, _Royal_."

He helped clean up the kitchen as Brooke placed the pan of cobbler in the oven. She took off the apron and walked away. Brooke Davis was definitely not meant to be in the kitchen, which is why she spent most of her time at Peyton's growing up because she at least knew how to make decent food. _She's still a bitch_. The doorbell rang and Brooke walked right by the door, ignoring it. "I guess old Mindy's here, Nate." She made her way upstairs and into her bedroom. Nathan shook his head and wiped his hands dry as the second chime of the doorbell rang. He grabbed the lemons from the fridge and hurried to open the door.

"Finally!"

Nathan looked confused. A blonde-haired girl was standing in front of him, wearing short shorts and a tank top that visibly displayed the bikini halter she was wearing underneath. _Old Mindy? Hardly._ She was gorgeous, right out of a Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Her southern drawl interrupted his thoughts, "I'm here for some lemons." She eyed the bag he was holding and she grinned, "I think those are my lemons."

Nathan slightly blushed at the embarrassment of gawking at the girl in front of him. He stuttered a 'yes' before he handed her the bag. She laughed, "Okay, you definitely need to work on your speech skills."

Nathan let out a chuckle, "Oh, I'm sorry, I just didn't expect you to look like, well, you."

Mindy grinned, "Was that a compliment?"

"Yeah, sorry, I meant, with the name Mindy, I expected someone older and...less attractive." _Wow, was that a little forward? Maybe. Oh well._

Mindy laughed at his attempt to be coy and charming. It wasn't working much, but she had to admit, he's pretty good-looking. "You're Leigh's nephew, right? From that small-town in North Carolina?"

"Yep."

"Well, I'm from a small-town myself. Maybe we can get to know each other more." She was definitely flirting with him. Her smile was captivating and her full lips ached to be kiss, right there. At that moment. "I'll see you at the barbeque." Nathan couldn't even reply. What an idiot. Great first impression, right? He stood there as he watched her slender body make her way down the drive-way and across the street.

* * *

This was their scene. Huge mansion, expensive art displayed throughout the house, a ton of people having a great time with drinks in their hands, and oh yes, an open bar. So what if they weren't of age? There's ways to get around that situation. Brooke and Nathan stepped into the marble-floored entrance of Ed & Julie Baker's mansion. They were greeted by Leigh's neighbors as well as the Baker's rambunctious children running throughout the house, and Brooke had to catch her balance when one of them almost knocked her down...along with that cherry cobbler she busted her butt off for. Nathan caught her shoulder and she gave a 'thank you' with her eyes and a smile. And then there she was, he spotted her from across the room, mingling with some older folks, probably charming them with that southern accent of hers. Before he could try and approach her, Brooke interrupted his daydreaming, "Hey, Nate! Do me a favor and take this to wherever this needs to be? I really need to use the bathroom."

Brooke handed him the pie and she disappeared in the crowd in the hallway. He searched for the kitchen and found the room with the food displayed throughout the counter and placed it next to another set of desserts. He scanned the room, in search of the blonde and found her walking towards the backyard. In the few feet he had to come up with a decent line or a simple hello, he called out to her, "Mindy!"

She whirled around and smiled, "Hey! Um, I'm sorry, I never even caught your name."

"Nathan." He hurriedly replied. Mindy nodded and gestured for them to go outside, "It's nicer out here." The two of them made their way to the backyard where the pool contained a group of teenagers either wrestling or fighting off the ones that were wrestling, a man wearing an apron who was obviously in charge of the grilling, and people laughing and talking over drinks. Mindy led him to the deck that overlooked the rest of Los Angeles and sat down in the bench attached to it. "So, how'd you end up here in L.A.?"

"Actually, I'm here for the summer. Just up and decided to spend more time with Leigh. She doesn't have much family out here."

Mindy nodded but in disbelief, "So I've lived here for about 6 years and I've NEVER seen you at Leigh's during ANY season. You expect me to believe that?"

"Yes, it's the truth!" He tried to be convincing, but that wasn't even close. Mindy laughed anyway and Nathan continued, "What small-town are you from? You've lived here 6 years and you never got rid of that southern drawl of yours?"

"Oh, please," She brushed her bangs from her eyes, "It adds to my charm, don't ya think?" Yeah, she flirting. And she's sassy. And she's hot. The two continued talking and laughing outside as the day went on. Brooke was sitting on the stairs inside, bored out of her mind and looking for some type of solitude...whether it was in Nathan or someone more interesting that this old bag in front of her saying she should consider cutting her hair to frame her face better. _What the hell does she know, anyway? _She'd tuned her out after about a minute and Brooke had succumbed to the thought of leaving. She quickly excused herself, straightened her peach-colored summer dress, and tried to find Nathan.

It was strange. No matter how much she tried to have fun out here, like she hoped, nothing ever worked. Going out on dates, shopping (yes, even the shopping), or even summer barbeques at strangers' homes, nothing compared to the fun she had when she was in Nathan's company. _Oh god, did I just admit that?_ He knew what to say to make her laugh, he knew what to say to piss her off...THEN make her get over it, he just knew her. Hell, he even saved her from all those miserable dates. But that's why they were best friends. That's why they used to be best friends when they little. _Jerk_. She searched for him throughout the house and finally stopped as she spotted his red shirt in the backyard. She smiled at the way he laughed; the kind of laughed that seemed so held in, like he didn't want to completely let himself go. Then the way he would just stare and smile at someone. Brooke liked that; that kind of look was the reassuring kind. It made her feel safe, protected, and even _wanted._

But there he was. Laughing like he'd just seen a Comedy Central marathon. And then there she was. Laughing like a stupid hyena, placing her hand on Nathan's bicep. Brooke stared at the two and she immediately felt anger surge through her body. _Why am I so mad? I don't care._ _Why should I care?_ This hyena was now touching Nathan's thigh, then his arm, and she even had the nerve to playfully push him. _Oh, the nerve!_ Brooke had had enough. She stormed off and practically ran over everyone that was in her way. Something had definitely changed during this summer.

Brooke Davis was actually _jealous_.

* * *


	8. The Take Over, The Break's Over

**Thanks for all the reviews, everyone! I know I hadn't updated in a while so I threw in two chapters in a day or so. Anyway, here's another one. This is fast forward to a week and will have the other characters as well, but not as much as Brathan. Enjoy!**

Nathan saw her walk right by him, engulfed in the book that was laying in her hands, oblivious to the fact that he was even in the same room as her. He'd noticed something different about Brooke the last week; she kept to herself and was reading any book she could get her hands on. Whether it was her way of keeping herself entertained at home or avoiding any more disastrous dates, Nathan hadn't really had a chance to talk or hang out with her at all this week. Then again, he was too busy spending time with Mindy, the Bakers' eldest daughter from across the street. Today was no different. They'd spent the last week doing casual activities; walking in the park, swimming in the Bakers' pool, having lunch is little cafes. Tonight, Nathan was gonna take her out to a nice dinner and a movie. He'd dressed up for this special occasion; it was Mindy's 17th birthday.

"Hey Brooke." He called out to the brunette, who was planted comfortably on the couch, legs laid out in front of her and a book right in front of her face. She really was reading, and it was her second book of the week. But she wasn't stupid. She knew that Nathan Scott was dressed for something, the hint of cologne that made its way to her nose? She knew it. The entire summer together and Nathan never put on any cologne and she knew tonight would be the night. And she dreaded it. She didn't know why, but she just did. Besides, did he even break up with Haley? This is technically called cheating, right?

"Hmm?" She turned her head just slightly, enough to let him know she heard his call. _Here we go._

Nathan nervously walked up to her, "What are you up to?"

Brooke refrained from making a smart ass remark. _I'm reading, you jackass. _"Nothing," she calmly replied.

"Well, I'm gonna be hanging out with Mindy tonight so I wanted to make sure you didn't have any dates that I needed to rescue you from." _Smooth, Scott...very smooth. If she wasn't already annoyed, she definitely is now._

Brooke didn't budge, "Jokes don't work for you, Scott." That's all she said. Nathan felt uncomfortable for the first time. Like the kind where he didn't know if he did something wrong to make her mad or if she was just really annoyed for no reason. Whatever it was, Nathan decided to leave it alone. He gave a nervous grin and walked away. Brooke turned to the next page.

* * *

Haley James had given up. In the last month, she called Nathan three times, and not once did he call her back. Part of her felt as if Brooke had something to do with it, the other part, the denial part, felt that Nathan really didn't wanna be with her anymore. She was lost and confused. _I think I made a big mistake_. The door opened and a familiar face greeted her with a smile. Without saying a word, she stepped into the room and accepted the hug he'd extended her.

"It's good to have you home, rock star." Lucas held her. His best friend had finally come home, although earlier than planned. Haley released herself from the hug, eyes tearing up, "I missed you, Luke." Lucas smiled at her and kissed her forehead. She walked towards his bed and sat down, "How's everything? Update me."

"Well," Lucas stuffed his hands in his pockets, "I've been working at the cafe with Deb, my mom's in Italy for cooking school, Dan's always trying to ruin my life, Peyton's been babysitting for Jake so we haven't spent as much time as I'd wanted, and I haven't seen Nathan in about a month."

Haley looked down on the floor, "And Brooke?"

Lucas shrugged, "She's still avoiding me. She wanted her space, you know?" Lucas cheered up slightly, "How did the touring go?"

Haley sighed, "It was...great. It was everything I could have ever hoped for and it was a dream come true. But without Nathan's support, I struggled through most of the nights. Knowing that I'd left him and for him feeling as if I'd given up on us, it killed me, Luke. But this was a once in a lifetime chance for me and you always said that when our dreams are placed at our feet, we have to pick it up. We have to take that opportunity. And I did! And I loved it. I loved every second of it. The crowd's response after every show made me feel alive. Except, I'd never felt so alone in my life."

Lucas nodded and placed an arm around her shoulders, "You have us here, Hales."

"That's why I came home. Tree Hill will always be my home and you will always be my best friend. And Nathan. He'll always be the love of my life." Her voice broke at the end of that sentence. She missed him and loved him so much that it was painful. She needed to see him, to lay her head on his chest and spend the night with him, she needed to be with him, wrapped up in his arms. But she didn't know where he was. Was he in Tree Hill? Was he still in L.A.? Why didn't he go to High Flyers? _Should I tell Lucas about seeing Brooke and Nathan together?_

"Come on, Hales. Let's go for a ride."

* * *

_Flashback_

_"I love you, Nate."_

_"I love you, too, B." _

_And then he kissed her. Their first kiss. With eachother.  
_

_End flashback_

Brooke's eyes flew open and she sat up quickly to find herself still laying on the couch, her book in the same page, and was resting on her chest. She'd fallen asleep and she could hear Leigh's humming upstairs slowly getting louder, letting her know Leigh was coming downstairs.

"Hey, sleepy head."

"Oh," Brooke faced her, "Hey, Aunt Leigh. What time is it?"

"Hmm, it's about 11:30. Have a nice nap?

Brooke chuckled, "I guess. I didn't realize I was that tired. Or well, maybe this book is just boring."

"Or maybe you wanted to be awake when Nathan comes home from his date."

Brooke made a face, "Okay, not even close. I don't care about his date with blondie. He has every right to see whomever he has to and I am in no position to stop him, even if she does laugh like a hyena or has terrible fashion sense. Besides, it's not any of my business, because...that's just how it is."

"Right," Leigh replied, "which explains why you were rambling. Anyway, I'm off to bed. No sleeping next to Nathan, I know my nephew's inherited the Lee family's good-looking genes but contain yourself. He should be the one chasing a pretty girl such as yourself." Brooke gave a little laugh as Leigh marched off to bed upstairs. Brooke sat up and put the book away. She didn't plan on Nathan coming home anytime soon, or at all, knowing Nathan. Knowing _herself_, for that matter. She knew what Friday nights usually meant to the popular and sexually charged teens of Tree Hill. Hell, she and Nathan practically started that trend...although not _together_. Regardless, she was going to bed.

The front door suddenly opened as Brooke stepped on the stairs. Startled, she tried to contain herself by giving off that trademark dimpled smile with a little attitude, "Someone's home..._early_."

Nathan caught the brunette's eyes, "Someone's still awake. Were you waiting up for me or something?"

"Oh, please. I have much better things to do than wait around for the postcoital play-by-play."

Nathan furrowed his brows, "I didn't sleep with her."

"I'm sure." She turned back around to make her way up the stairs when Nathan called out from behind her, "Did you expect me to sleep with her?"

"You're kinda known for that, Nathan Scott. It's what you do. It's what you've built your reputation and ego upon."

"Do you have a problem with me or something?"

Brooke rolled her eyes, "I am so not gonna fight with you right now. I'm going to bed."

"No, Brooke, stop. Don't try and avoid me like you've been doing this past week. Or hell, for the past month!" Nathan raised his voice. More than usual, enough to press that last button on Brooke's nerves.

"Avoiding you? You just might be totally delusional because you see, _my _life doesn't revolve around YOU, okay? I'm not your damsel in distress that falls right at your feet when you look at me or when you walk out that door. I am my own person and I am completely fine being on my own! So you may think I'm avoiding you, but maybe you need to think about what you've been doing, mister. How's your girlfriend, Nathan? You know, her name is Haley and she went on tour for the summer and...oh, wait, you never broke up, right? Yeah. So technically, you're still with Haley while you're prancing off with blondie trying to score!"

Brooke was nuts, and Nathan had practically enough. "Wait, wait, wait. Why does my life suddenly concern you? Why do you care about Haley or if I'm sleeping with Mindy? Is it because it's not you I'm sleeping with, Brooke? Is that how this works? You forget that I've kissed you multiple times the past several weeks and I've even slept with you, and where was your head, Brooke? Was it worrying about me and Haley's relationship? No! Because you're all about yourself. And you don't care who's miserable or happy around you, because it's always about YOU."

"Oh, If I have learned ANYTHING about being selfish, it is definitely from you, you self-centered asshole! And I DON'T give a shit who you're flavor of the night is, whether it's blondie, tutor-girl, or me because you're nobody to me, Nathan Scott. You're just a poor sap who's girlfriend left you all alone because she'd rather be off doing bigger and better things...like Chris Keller."

"Yeah, just like your boyfriend that claimed to be in love with you would rather be with your best-friend, right?!"

That was the dagger. Nathan and Brooke locked eyes, staring each other down, one refusing to back down from the other. A lot can happen in 2 months, Nathan once said. They were trying to rekindle a broken friendship and now, it's gone downhill.

* * *

The next morning was what they dreaded the most. Brooke and Nathan ended their night by slamming their doors, refusing to talk about their problems. They were both good at that, walking away and avoiding causing any more damage than what was already done. Brooke spent the night fighting off the tears that freely flowed from her hazel eyes while Nathan battled the urge to punch any holes in his aunt's house. Facing each other the next day wouldn't mean things would be better. If anything, they'd just start right where they left off.

But the phone call Brooke received wouldn't even come close to how bad she was feeling right now. Looking at the caller ID, Karen's name was displayed and Brooke wondered why she would be calling. _Lucas could be trying to reach me from her phone...or she really could be calling me._ Without a second thought, Brooke picked it up.

Nathan's cell phone rang continuously. It was Peyton. Peyton, his ex-girlfriend that he hasn't talked to since he left Tree Hill was suddenly calling him. Nathan began to worry at the sudden phone call and picked it up.

In a matter of seconds, Brooke and Nathan were face to face again in the hallway that they shared. Brooke was breathing deeply as she saw the shocked look in Nathan's eyes, "Did you get the call?"

"We gotta go." And just like, the two gathered their phones and wallets, and were off to the airport...back to Tree Hill.

* * *

Brooke fiddled with her fingers while Nathan sat across from her, head in his hands. The waiting room at the hospital was the last place they expected to be. Jake's figure approached the two teenagers and Brooke stood up, "Hey, what's happening?"

Nathan followed right after, "Are they okay? What's going on?"

Jake shook his head, "We're still waiting on the news. It wasn't anything too drastic, but they were both pretty beat up badly. Peyton's with Karen right now and they're talking to anyone who'd give them any information."

Brooke began to shake and she found comfort in Nathan's arms when he reached for her, "How did this happen? Karen told me it was an accident but--"

"A drunk driver crashed into Lucas's truck at an intersection. Witnesses called 911 for the three of them and now it's just the waiting game to see what's gonna happen."

Nathan shook his head, "I didn't even know Haley was back in Tree Hill. God, I should've known. I should've called her back." Brooke sobbed into Nathan's chest as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Oh, god, I hope they're gonna be okay."

Karen and Peyton appeared through the hallway, holding hands tightly, as if trying to keep the other from completely falling apart. They spotted Brooke and Nathan and walked towards them.

"Hey, Karen." Brooke gave her a hug as Peyton walked towards Nathan. "How is he?"

Karen shook her head, trying to contain herself, "They said he's gonna be okay. He's got a couple bruises and cuts but Haley had it the worst. She was sitting in the passenger's side and the driver came from the right side. So she's in intensive care right now. They're taking care of her as much as they can." Nathan almost lost it. He couldn't deal with it if Haley didn't make it. He couldn't deal with not being able to see her or talk to her, tell her things are gonna be okay and that he'll be there for her. He loved her. He still loves her. And he wished to hell that he called her back, to hear her voice, to hear say anything.

Brooke turned to Peyton, who looked like a complete mess. At this moment, she didn't know who needed the most comfort. The ex-girlfriend or the backstabbing current girlfriend. But regardless of their complicated love triangle, Brooke reached for Peyton and embraced her as Peyton broke down in her arms.

* * *

Lucas Scott watched Haley James in her room as the nurses tended to her. He raised a hand up to his cut forehead and winced at the pain from doing so. His best friend laid there in her bed, a bandage wrapped around her head, covering the gash on her forehead, and cuts and bruises throughout her body. They'd finally stopped her internal bleeding and she was gonna be okay. His watch read 3pm and it had been more than 12 hours since their car accident. He didn't even see the guy coming. Not even close. He didn't even see him until he heard Haley yell out...then the sound of the crash followed by complete silence surrounded him.

"Lucas."

Brooke stood there, several feet from him. He turned to her, surprised that she was there, "Brooke." Without hesitation, she walked towards him and hugged him. Lucas embraced her tightly, not wanting to let go. He missed feeling her in his arms like this, he missed taking care of her. "Are you gonna be okay?" She sniffed as she tried to fight back more tears.

"Yeah, I'll be all right." Lucas replied, taking in the scent of her presence. "Where've you been?"

Brooke let out a little laugh, "So not important right now, Luke. I'm just so glad you're okay." She released herself from his embrace as the nurses walked past them leaving Haley in her room. Lucas smiled at Brooke as he walked inside Haley's room, leaving Brooke at the doorway and walking away. "Hey, you," Lucas began, knowing there's a chance Haley might not be able to hear him. "Maybe it was a good thing you didn't come back to Tree Hill, then, huh?" It was his attempt at a joke. "Well, when you wake up, I promise I won't take you for any more rides around Tree Hill." Lucas tried to smile, watching his best friend laying there was difficult to process.

Haley's lips began to creep a smile, "Not funny." Her voice surprised Lucas, but allowed him to sigh of relief. She made a groaning face as she adjusted her vision to meet Lucas's worried eyes, "How are you?"

"Don't worry about me, Haley. I'm not the one laying in the bed, am I?"

Haley smiled, "I can't help it."

Lucas ran his hand along the side of her face, "You just get some rest and I'm gonna see you later, okay? Brooke finally came out of hiding so I'm gonna go have a talk with her."

"Oh," Haley's reaction was of surprise, "Then that means Nathan's come out of hiding as well."

"What do you mean?" Lucas crooked his brows, curious as to what Haley meant.

Haley took a breath, trying to get comfortable. It was now or never. "I saw them together...while I was out on tour in L.A. Nathan's been avoiding my phone calls and I think the reason is because of that. They were there together, Lucas. And I don't know what it meant, but it wasn't the Brooke and Nathan that we see here in Tree Hill. They were...happy together."

Lucas grew even more confused. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Brooke and Nathan together? No way. The two were usually either ignoring each other or at each other's throats. _This is why Brooke didn't even answer his question_. He kissed Haley on the forehead and began to walk away, "Hey, Luke? If Brooke's here, can you tell Nathan I'd like to see him?"

* * *

"Hey."

Brooke looked up as Nathan called her name. She was leaning against a vending machine in the cafeteria, holding a bag of chips in her hand. "Hungry? I've got a dollar." She offered him. He shrugged, "I'm cool. How you holdin' up?"

"Ha, I should be the least of your worries, Nate." She sighed and looked up at him, a worried look in both their eyes, "She's gonna be okay, right?"

Nathan nodded, "I hope so. I'm gonna go see when I can see her, but about last night--" Lucas's voice called out Nathan's name, letting him know that Haley wanted to see him. Nathan said goodbye with his eyes and walked away, leaving Brooke and Lucas in the cafeteria together. Before today, Brooke hadn't seen him since the day he broke it off with her, and their departure was less than friendly. But right now, everything that had happened wasn't important. Until he opened his mouth.

"Still avoiding me?"

Brooke sighed, she didn't want to talk about this right now. She actually wasn't even prepared to talk about this at all. "I think I'm allowed a free pass from any communication with you after what you did, don't you think?"

"Fair enough," Lucas began, "But why avoid me? I tried to give you your space but a big part of me couldn't help but worry about you. With the way we left things--"

"Lucas, why are you here with me?"

"What?"

"Why are you here with me?" Brooke enunciated, "Look, I came because I wanted to make sure you were okay. Now that we've established that you're fine and you're walking, why are we still here? Peyton must be so worried about you--"

"My girlfriend Peyton that I haven't seen much of since we got together?"

"What the hell are you talking about? I was right there in the waiting room with her while she bawled her eyes out on my shoulder, worried about you to death!"

"Well, that's good to know," Lucas began, bitterness in his voice, "But I haven't seen much of her lately. She's been helping Jake out with the baby while he got a job over at Keith's shop."

"So...what have you been doing all summer?"

"At the cafe, helping out Deb. My mom flew back from cooking school in Italy when she heard about the accident." Lucas reached out for her hand, "Brooke, I need to know if we're gonna be okay."

"Lucas, you can't just ask me that. Do you know what I've been through? I've spent nights in the dark wondering if this was all a dream, wishing that I would wake up from it all. It killed me to know that you and Peyton were together, when you knew how much I loved you, how much I cared for you. You were the first boy I ever fell in love with Lucas, and I thought we were something great. But you threw all that away. And behind my back? Do you even have an idea of how that felt for me?"

"Brooke--"

"No, Lucas. I can't do this. I can't pretend to be okay with what you did to us. Because it hurt. I've locked it away for the last month or so but a part of me still hurts."

"Even when you spent all that time with Nathan?"

Brooke stared at him in shock. _Where did that come from?_ Brooke stopped talking. She knew she wasn't really mad at Lucas and the whole situation, but it's not like she didn't wanna avoid it. She was more annoyed about the fight with Nathan, and how open-ended it was. No resolution from the night before, not even on the plane ride. Now she's home. But now that they were back in Tree Hill, she felt even more lost than ever. She shook her head and said, "I think I'm gonna go home." She stood up and walked away, leaving Lucas watching her just as he when he broke her heart.

* * *

Nathan held Haley's hand as he sat next to her bed. Her eyes had just opened again after a brief moment and she was greeted by that trademark Nathan grin, "Hey..."

Haley tried her best to smile back, but emotions flooded through her and her eyes became watery, "Oh, Nathan," she began to sob, "I'm so sorry..."

"Hey, hey," Nathan reached up to caress her face, "I'm here. You're gonna be okay. I'll be right here, okay? I'm not gonna leave you."

"Nathan, I'm sorry..." Haley pleaded with her eyes. Nathan reassured her that he would take care of her and how he was glad that she was okay. He made Haley feel like they used to be, the love that they had for each other before she left. And Haley needed Nathan more than ever.

"There's so many things I wish I could take back, Nathan. I should've never left...I should've stayed with you. I love you so much, Nathan, and I just don't wanna be without you." Those were the words Nathan had wanted to hear. He looked down at her and smiled as he kissed her on the lips. He didn't know what else to say. Here he was, his girlfriend proclaiming her love for him just like he'd been dying to hear for the last several weeks. And he couldn't even believe that his mind was wandering to Brooke Davis.

* * *


	9. Where Idols Once Stood

**Author's note**: I know the pace for the last few chapters went by pretty quickly. So from here on out, I'm gonna try and slow it down a little. It actually took me a while to figure out what I was gonna do with this chapter. I'm not even sure it's even that great, but oh well. But thanks for the reviews everyone! Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Early Friday morning, Nathan made his way up the stairs to Haley's room, holding a bag containing a tupperware of macaroni and cheese, some granola bars, and a bottled water. Knocking on Haley's door to make his presence know, he opened it to find his girlfriend laying on the bed, reading a magazine. "I brought you some food."

Haley smiled with excitement, mostly over seeing Nathan and partially over the food part. He placed it down on her desk and dumped everything out, "It's all I could salvage at my house."

A week after Haley's accident, she and Nathan found themselves apart yet again due to an eviction from lack of rent payments. But Nathan did what he could to see as much of her, more like everyday actually. The bitterness about her departure before the summer still lingered in him, but he didn't have the heart to bring it up, not after what she'd been through.

Haley gestured for him to sit with her and kissed him, "I missed you."

"I missed you, too. But I was only gone for an hour, Hales."

"Well, it felt like an eternity." Ever since she left him, it all felt like an eternity. She looked into his brown eyes, assuring herself that everything was gonna be okay from now on. But the uncertainty she's been carrying since she saw Nathan and Brooke together still gnawed at her. She hadn't mentioned that to him and felt that the right time would eventually come, even if the right time was now.

"So," Haley was unsure how to ask it, "What'd you do while I was gone?"

Nathan was shocked, he didn't expect this to happen. Not yet, at least. _Oh, you know, got drunk, moped around, ditched High Flyers, hung out with Brooke. Maybe we'll leave that last part out. Or maybe all of them. Just to save face._

"Just kinda…hung around." He was trying to give his best convincing look.

Haley knew better, "I see you're not in High Flyers."

"It didn't work out after all."

Haley sighed, "I hope it wasn't because of me."

_Really? Can you be that naïve?_ He wanted to blurt it out. "It was a lot of things." Nathan replied. There was a hint of discomfort in his voice, as if he didn't feel comfortable enough to be open to Haley. She was his girlfriend, after all, he _should_ be able to tell her how he feels.

"Nathan, is there something you're not telling me?"

Nathan questioned her and she let out an exasperated sigh, "Okay, I give up. What were you doing in L.A.?"

_Whoaaaaa. Where the hell did that come from?_ Nathan stiffened up, "What are you talking about"

Haley leaned her head back against the wall. Was he really gonna try and talk his way out of this one? "Nathan, you know I love you. So please don't sit there and lie to me. What were you doing in L.A. with Brooke?"

* * *

The sound of her shoes hitting the ground was the only thing that Brooke could hear, but it gave her peace. After running for 20 minutes straight, she came to a slow stop, trying to catch her breath and stepping onto that familiar concrete. She'd ended up at the River Court, a place she frequented less and less often as she got older. The memories used to be good on this court, then they became blurry and disappointing. Still, at this time of the day, the combination of the sun shining as well as the slight cool breeze from the river was incomparable. Standing with her hands on her hips, closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath.

"Didn't expect to see you here."

Brooke turned around to the familiar voice. It was Nathan, doing exactly what she did not long ago. Trying to catch his breath, he walked towards her, one hand on his hip. "I told you I run," Brooke defended, "somehow I ended up here."

"Yeah." He looked over at the scenery and sighed, "I got into a fight with Haley."

"What? Why?" The look of concern on her face urged him to continue, "I told her about L.A."

"Oh," Brooke was relieved….or was she? "Whoa wait, which parts? Based on my memory, a lot of things happened in L.A. What exactly did you tell her?"

Nathan shrugged as if accepting defeat, "Everything."

"_Everything?_" Brooke needed more information than that.

"Yep. Everything except…kissing you and sleeping with you."

"Oh." Something inside of her broke. _Why did she want Haley to know? _She wasn't sure, but Nathan continued, "I even told her about Mindy. You know, taking her out and having a good time with her. I guess I did it to hurt her the way she hurt me. I don't know, it just came out." _Yeah, except the part where you kissed me and slept with me._

"So, why are you telling me this?"

Nathan finally looked at her, "I guess I always found it easier to tell you things, even though I don't always tell you everything."

"It's been a while since you've told me everything." Her voice was beginning to sound regretful, "Nathan, that fight we had before we came back home? I just want to say I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For acting all…bitchy and saying things I shouldn't have. It was totally uncalled for and you didn't deserve that." She paused, "Besides, Chris Keller is definitely not better than you. People who speak in the third person and try to kidnap teenage wives just don't strike me as a good guy." It was her attempt to get Nathan to smile, even if it was a fake one.

He tightened his lip and replied in a soft voice, "I said things I shouldn't have also. That whole Lucas and Peyton thing wasn't exactly fair either. I'm sorry."

Brooke nodded her head in acceptance, "So we've said our peace and that's that. Now we can go back to our miserable lives yet again. Well, at least I can. Haley's back home so you have nothing to worry about anymore."

"Eh," He shrugged one shoulder, "Just 'cause she's home doesn't mean things are gonna be the way they used to before she left. We still have a lot of things to sort out. I still need to figure out what I want."

Her eyes shot him a curious look, "I thought you wanted her to come home? She's back, Nathan, isn't that what you wanted?"

"I thoug--I _did _want that. But the way we left things earlier had me thinking when I went out to run. She told me everything she felt while she was gone--missing me and yet couldn't let go of the music. She was choosing music over me before…and to believe that she doesn't wanna go back to that and just be stuck here with me would make me an idiot. Who's to say that's not gonna happen again? "

It took everything inside of her to not lecture him about choices. After all, she knew that situation all too well.

He would have given up basketball for Haley--and he did so with High Flyers--and all Brooke could do to offer some comfort was to place a hand on Nathan's back, "Well, I guess you two have a lot of things to talk about. I do suggest not letting her sing at Tric anytime soon. You never know, just to be safe." She winked at him and he smiled at her.

"So how's it going with the love triangle?"

"Ugh," Brooke rolled her eyes, placing her hand back to her side, "I wouldn't know. I haven't had the chance to see either of them, but then again I haven't really left my house as of late. I think I'm still in hide-out mode."

"You're gonna have to face them sooner or later."

"I prefer later, actually. Maybe even never."

"Come on, Brooke. The least you can do is just forgive them for what they did to you and move on from there. It's probably the only way for you to be really happy again, regardless of what they did. Maybe in the long run things will be better."

"Uh, you're one to talk, Dr. Phil."

Nathan laughed at his failed attempt, "Sorry."

"It's tough though. I mean, I guess in a not-so-succesful manner I've tried to dig inside myself and forgive them, but it's hard. I think it's gotten so easier to just avoid and ignore it that I don't really know what else to do."

"You gotta face it sometime. You can't avoid them any longer, you know. We hang with the same crowds, we go to the same school--"

"There are ways to get around that. I can...not be a cheerleader and I can even start homeschooling--"

"Who's gonna teach you at home?" He challenged.

"I can hire someone!" She gave a half-smirk as Nathan shook his head, but she knew he was right, "Well, how easy was it to forgive Haley?"

He threw his head back and looked up at the sky for a brief moment, "I haven't exactly forgiven her."

"Ah," she mocked him, "Well, the least you can do is forgive her for what she did to you and move on from there."

"Haha," he replied dryly, "It's not that easy with Haley."

"Why?"

He turned his gaze back at her, "She just ditched me to go on tour with that jackass. She even kissed him before she left..._with_ him!"

"Oh!" Brooke raised up one hand, "How about catching your boyfriend and best friend practically having sex via webcam!"

"Ok, you win." Nathan raised both his hands in defeat, "But you still gotta forgive them eventually."

She raised an eyebrow, "I will if you will."

Nathan chuckled, "All right, fine. What about me? How come you forgave me so easily?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know, I was an ass to you all these years...but here we are and we're leaning on each other for support."

"Who said I forgave you for anything...and who said I was leaning on you for support?" It came out defensively, even though she meant it jokingly...sort of.

"Well, I know I wasn't exactly the best friend I used to be--"

Brooke cut him off; she just didn't like bringing that up anymore, "Oh, maybe it was your dreamy brown eyes or the smell of your cheap cologne. One or the other."

She made a face at him and they continued to stand there together in the next few seconds in silence, until Nathan spoke up, "Man, the last time we were here together…was so long ago."

"Hmm," Brooke sighed at the memory, "It feels like another lifetime." Just for a moment, she allowed herself to remember the way things used to be, "I remember you beat up a boy once because he wouldn't stop pulling my hair for his own entertainment."

Nathan laughed, "Well, if you call throwin a basketball at his face beating up."

"Still chased him away." She shook her head, "That's Tim for ya."

He couldn't help but smile at her, "You used to watch me just shoot around for hours."

"I had no choice. It was either watching you or watching the wall at my house."

"Yeah, you always did like watching me."

"Cocky!" She laughed at him.

"Isn't that why you became a cheerleader?" He joked.

"Don't flatter yourself." She replied, even though there was some truth in that.

"God, l remember kicking your ass in basketball all the time!"

She scowled, "Excuse me, but I do remember that you suddenly grew 10 inches that time!"

"I was eight!"

"But you were still freakishly taller than me for an eight year old. Maybe your dad was already giving you steroids at that age, huh, Nate?"

"Yeah, steroids that made me tall but kept the rest of my body skinny." Nathan responded sarcastically.

"Well, results do vary, I guess." Regardless, Nathan grew into a nicely-built and highly attractive seventeen year old. That was putting it G-rated. There were other words in Brooke's mind to describe Nathan's physique, but she deviated.

Again, that silence fell between them. He glanced at the basketball net, and then down on the ground, and then at her, as if trying to figure out what to say or do next. He wanted to tell her how much he missed their friendship, the way he'd come over her house to make her play video games with him, or she'd go over to his and make him Pop Tarts while they formed jigsaw puzzles together, which always turned out to be some lame Disney cartoon.

Nathan had drifted off to those memories, not realizing that Brooke was beginning to walk away towards the park bench. He followed her, unsure if that was what she wanted. She eventually turned around and nodded slightly and looked back at the river, "Why didn't you tell her about what we did?"

She said it just like that. No hesitation, as if no surprise was to come from it. With both hands in his pockets, he shrugged as if the answer was something he'd always expected himself to say, "Because it didn't mean anything, right? It was a mistake."

Brooke stood there blankly, unsure of her next move. "You said so yourself, Brooke."

_Yeah, throw it in my face. _"You're right. Why bother?" She wasn't sure if this was how the conversation was supposed to end, but it did.

Nathan sensed her uneasiness, not so much the twinge of hurt and anger boiling inside of her, "So anyway, I gotta get back to Haley. We still have a lot to talk about." He gave a nervous chuckle, "See ya, Brooke."

Brooke's eyes never left the river, "Yeah." She sensed Nathan wasn't too close anymore, and it took all the strength in her to watch him walk away until she couldn't make out his figure.

Nathan mumbled "idiot" under his breath as walked away from the River Court. His mind drifted back to the argument with Haley earlier in the day. She asked him about Brooke and he did tell her everything, the road trip, the fun they had in L.A., the rason they both left Tree Hill...except the kissing and the sex. He _did_ want to hurt Haley in retaliation for what she did to him, and he knew _that_ would crush her to pieces...but he didn't want to do that to Brooke. To portray her as rebound sex, even if it was a drunken action. Because, truthfully, maybe Nathan wasn't even all that drunk after all.

**Author's note**: I realize this chapter wasn't that great, but the next one should be better.


	10. The First Cut is the Deepest

**Author's note:** I hope this one kind of makes up for the last chapter. I didn't intend on posting this tonight, but I guess writer's block didn't last that long. hope you guys like it.

**PLEASE READ: **I accidentally put "teenage wives" in the previous chapter, making it seem like Naley was married. But _**they were not married**_. I lost the document for the chapter and was too lazy to edit it. So there you go.

* * *

That evening, Brooke replayed the conversation she shared with Nathan.

Forgiveness was the only way for her to really move on. Otherwise, she could spend the rest of her life--ok, not so dramatic…maybe the summer--hiding out and feeling miserable. Maybe forgiveness was what she needed to lift this huge weight of anger off her shoulders. Anger that, truthfully, wasn't really as much as it used to be.

She sat in front of her vanity, brushing her hair right before she prepared for bed when a knock came on her door. She furrowed her brows in curiosity, but called out anyway, "Come in."

Peyton Sawyer appeared through the doorway, in tears. Brooke's instinct was to reach for her friend…or whatever she was. Peyton walked towards her bed and sat down, "I'm sorry, Brooke. I'm so sorry…"

Brooke placed herself next to her and embraced her, "Peyton, what's wrong?"

In between tears, Peyton spoke, "I told Lucas it wasn't gonna work out. It's just--I'm so sorry, Brooke. I'm so sorry I ruined our friendship over--some guy. God, I feel like such an idiot!"

"Peyton," Brooke's voice was soft and comforting, to both their surprise, "What happened?"

"It's Jake," Peyton confessed, even though Brooke already knew, "It just happened, you know? I didn't mean for it to, but it did…"

"Wow, Peyton, you have a knack for breaking people's hearts, don't you?" Brooke had to admit, she'd heard that excuse before.

Peyton tried to compose herself, "I said I was sorry! Brooke, I don't know what to do."

"Do you love him?" Brooke felt compelled to ask her.

"I…I dunno. I think so…" Peyton trailed off, trying to figure out what her answer was.

"It's simple, Peyton," Brooke held her friend's hand, "If you love Jake, like truly love him--then nothing else matters."

Peyton became confused, "What? What do you mean? Even if it breaks someone else's heart?"

"I think it's safe to say that you've already done that." Peyton nodded in agreement and shame knowing Brooke was referring to herself, "What am I supposed to tell him?"

"You tell him," Brooke explained, "That it wasn't meant to be. That you care about him and that you'll always be his friend."

Peyton wasn't convinced that that was the right way to tell Lucas. But Brooke persisted, "You can tell him that, or you can tell him what's in your heart, Peyton. But I have a feeling he already knows."

Peyton sighed, and wiped the last of her tears, "So much for hos over bros, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, Lucas…he cheated on you…with me, for crying out loud. And THAT didn't even last. But look at where we ended up."

Brooke sighed, "It's still hos over bros," she placed an arm around her friend's shoulder, "Because trust me, there's no way I'm going after Jake now that you're together. It's way too Jerry Springer for my liking."

Peyton laughed, "Thanks, Brooke."

"For what?"

"For…trying to be a friend to me tonight. I really needed it. I didn't know who else to turn to."

Brooke smiled, "I wasn't trying to be a friend, Peyton. I just am."

Not long ago, Peyton left and headed to Lucas's house. Brooke laid in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, partly proud of herself for being able to forgive Peyton for what she'd done to her. And it all seemed too easy. But Brooke knew it was because that she really was getting tired of holding a grudge against her or even Lucas because, frankly, it didn't get them anywhere.

But tonight, she finally did it. Looking into her childhood friend's eyes, she forgave her. And they spent the next hour talking about the early part of their summer…she needed to tell someone how she felt.

_"Oh, I missed you, Brooke Penelope Davis." Peyton embraced her brunette friend._

_"I missed you too, Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer." She grunted as she hugged her back, impressed at how their friendship suddenly came back together._

_"Tree Hill was definitely … lame without you."_

_Brooke shrugged, "I figured."_

_"Seriously!" Peyton nudged her side, "What's this I hear about you running off to L.A. with Nathan? That just sounded so unlikely."_

_"Wow, news travels fast," Brooke rolled her eyes, but continued, "We just wanted to leave Tree Hill. Get away from it all."_

_"But with Nathan? Didn't you call him Lucifer's son one time?"_

_"Eh," Brooke was starting to become transparent, "He's not so bad. I mean, at one point in our lives we used to be best friends. It was just a friend trying to help another friend get over heartache."_

_"Mmhmm," Peyton was insinuating otherwise, "And did that involve…anything…not normally done with friends?"_

_"Peyton!" Brooke was borderline embarrassed and annoyed, "Why would you assume that something not-normally-done-with-friends happened? God, Peyton, that's so ridiculous!"_

_"Brooke, you're rambling."_

_"Whatever!" Brooke stood up and paced the room, "Nothing happened, okay? We're just friends and nothing more. He's with Haley, for crying out loud!" _

_"Brooke!"_

_Brooke threw her hands up in the air, "What?!"_

_"I'm only asking because--"_

_"Because what, Peyton?"_

_"Because Nathan told me what happened."_

_Brooke stared at her friend in shock. No, she didn't just hear that. There's no way. "What did you just say?"_

_Peyton stood up to her eye level, "Nathan told me that…you guys had sex."_

_"Wha-!" Brooke wanted to punch a wall, and almost punched Peyton's face in return, "What the hell, Peyton! Why--"_

_"He told me the night you guys came back and we'd just left the hospital to take Lucas home. I dropped him off at his place and he just…kinda blurted it out on the spot. Trust me, Brooke, I'd already had a tough day and to add that to my list…it wasn't making it any easier."_

_"Why would he tell you?"_

_Peyton shrugged, "I guess he figured I wouldn't judge him."_

_Brooke stood there, arms crossed, clueless about her next words. _

_"He looked so…different. He told it wasn't supposed to mean anything, but he looked miserable. And I just listened to him. He was so torn, but he had Haley and--"_

_"He loves her, I know." Brooke shook her head in disappointment, remaining to keep her arms crossed as if to protect herself._

_"You need to talk to him, Brooke."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because you two need to figure out what you want."_

_"He already chose who he wanted. He wants to be with Haley. And besides, how do you even know that we want to be together?"_

_Peyton placed a hand on Brooke's shoulder, "I don't. But I think you guys do."_

* * *

Holding hand in hand, Lucas and Haley made their way out of Karen's Café. The night hadn't been going well for the two, considering their situations. An hour ago, Lucas and Peyton were face to face, ending their relationship. Haley refused to talk to Nathan after his run and retreated to the café for the rest of the day to bury herself in work.

"Are you gonna be okay?"

Lucas grasped her hand tightly, "I think so. But it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would."

"I guess our summer didn't turn out as we hoped, huh? Or at least, this past year. God, last year it was just you and me. And life was so simple back then. There are time I wish we could go back to that and forget Nathan, Brooke, and all this mess." Haley let out a sigh of wishful thinking, knowing full well the reality of it all.

"Have you talked to Nathan since this morning?"

"He tried, but I couldn't face him. I don't know who I was more mad at though. Me, for leaving in the first place and causing all this trouble. Or at him, for doing what he did."

"Hales," He didn't want her to feel guilty for what she'd done--chasing her dream, "What he isn't your fault. Sure, he was broken-hearted and just left to be away from it all, but he knew what he was doing. He didn't have to do what he did."

"I guess…it just doesn't feel like he's telling me everything. He's hiding something Lucas, I can feel it. And I don't want to admit it, but it's there in his eyes when he talks to me. He's holding something back and I want to ask, I want to know, but at the same time…"

Lucas cut her off, "It's like you already know the answer." She fought with herself to shed any tears, but in the comforting arms of her best friend, it was inevitable. Lucas held her in his arms as she sobbed in his chest, still trying to fight breaking down. He stroked her hair as his mind drifted off to Brooke Davis.

* * *

"Thanks for coming." She stepped on the concrete and greeted him as he turned to face her.

"Well, it got me out of the house." He replied, referring to his controlling father. "It was either this or analyzing last season's games to improve my stats. Guess what I chose."

Brooke had been nervous the entire drive here. She even turned back to her house, but deemed it unfair to stand him up after she left him a text message that practically screamed desperation to meet her at the River Court.

"So," she began, "I'm 1 for 2, tonight." Nathan wrinkled his brows at her statement. "Peyton and I are back to speaking terms. Well, friendly terms for that matter."

"Oh," he was a little surprised considering she didn't seem like she was gonna budge earlier in the day, "That's good, I guess. But you need to make it 2 for 2 for me to fulfill mine."

Brooke smiled at his attempt to keep the mood light, but she knew it wouldn't last long. She shifted from where she was standing and couldn't help but take her eyes off his, "Nathan, I think we need to talk."

It was the words Nathan dreaded and looked forward to at the same time. On his way here, he imagined how the conversation would go. Everything would be sorted out and they would go their own way. That was the plan. That was the plan that wouldn't cause any more hurt to others.

"Brooke--"

"Do you remember the last time we were on this court together?" She asked him, and right before his reply, she continued, "Not counting this morning."

Nathan looked to the ground, trying to remember what she asked him, "Umm…"

"We were eight-years-old. And you were playing basketball with some other kids and I was sitting right there," she pointed to the bench, "watching you like I always did."

Nathan remembered.

"You thought you were so cool," Brooke let out a husky chuckle, "and everyone thought you were really good."

He shut his eyes at the memory.

"And that was probably the third time that week that I watched you play. And each time, you got better, and more kids started to really like you. But each time that happened, and the more you became popular," Brooke's voice began to quiver and grow softer, "you started to forget about me."

Nathan weakened at the sound of her voice, yet she refused to let him near her, "The last time we were on this court together--after your game, I asked you if wanted to come over and I'd make Pop tarts and we'd just hang out at my house. Do you remember what you said to me?"

Nathan shook his head and tore his eyes away from her gaze. He knew exactly what she was saying, and he couldn't even open his mouth to reply.

"You said, hanging out with girls was stupid. And you picked up your basketball, that I gave you, and you walked away."

"Brooke--"

"You became popular, Nathan. You forgot about me. Do you know how much that hurt? I was eight-years-old and that was my first real heartbreak! I carried this with me since you walked away from me that day. I was a little girl and little girls shouldn't be going through that kind of pain. And you were supposed to be my best friend. And from then on, all the kids thought you were the coolest guy ever--and what about me? Nobody cared about me, Nathan. Every day after school, I would walk by the River Court and see you play and a big part of me wished so badly that you would walk over to me and we'd be friends again. But you did nothing--you never once even acknowledged me around your friends."

Nathan could see Brooke slowly falling apart, but he couldn't move his feet from the ground.

"Then I met Peyton. And she liked cheerleading. She wanted to be a cheerleader, because her mom was a cheerleader. And I promised her that I'd cheer with her, because she was my _friend_. And because a big part of me wanted to see you play, Nate. I always loved watching you play. You had that confidence, that determination and passion…and I always admired that in you."

Her eyes had welled up with tears and she blinked them away, "So I became a cheerleader. Every year that I knew you would be playing basketball, I tried out for cheer. And I fell in love with it--even the popularity that came with it. For a while I understood how much status can run a person's life and I admit, I got caught up in it. But I let all the popularity consume me because sometimes, it made me feel like I was wanted. And throughout the day, I'd forget about my problems. But at the end of the night, I'd cry myself to sleep because I felt so alone, Nathan. Even when I had Peyton, I still felt so alone. You were my best friend and you chose _basketball_ over me."

Even with tears slowly flowing down her face, Brooke stood still. Everything she'd held back was being revealed, and her feet planted her firmly on the concrete to prevent herself from losing control.

"So forgive me if I felt a little happy when Haley chose music over you, Nate."

Nathan drew back his eyes from her and stared out onto the dark river.

"But when I saw you, I was reminded of myself. The feeling of loving someone that just walked away without a second thought; it's the worst thing I can imagine. " Her hand flew to her chest as a gesture of her heart aching, "And it broke my heart when she came home, because I knew she came home for you, Nathan. And sometimes, I just wished you'd come home for _me_."

Nathan tightened his lips as he watched her finally breakdown. He instinctively reached for her and wrapped her up in his arms, holding her in silence as he listened to her finally give way. He cursed himself for everything he did--he never knew how much he'd truly hurt her. Through the years, she'd put up a brave face, consumed herself in cheerleading, and even involved herself with many guys; Nathan never knew it was her way of hiding her pain.

He held her tighter even when she finally began to compose herself. She released herself from his embrace and looked up into his eyes, begging for any words to come out of his mouth, "I wasn't drunk."

Nathan stepped back slightly, "What?"

Catching her breath, she confessed, "When we were in Vegas, I wasn't drunk. I've grown a high tolerance for alcohol through the years, so I wasn't drunk."

"What," Nathan let go of her, "what are you saying?"

"I lied when I said it didn't mean anything. Because it meant everything. Even if it was for a few hours, you were mine. And…I didn't wanna let that go."

He chuckled in relief, "Wow," she wrinkled her brows in confusion, "I wasn't drunk either."

Brooke almost fell back from his words, "So…we were two…_secretly_ consenting people…" She looked as if she was trying to do long division in her head when Nathan spoke, "I'm sorry, Brooke."

"For what?"

"For everything. For what I did when we were little, for lying to you about sleeping together, for everything. I just wish you could see how much you've always meant to me, Brooke. I was a stupid kid. I grew up with a father who taught me _wrong_ from _wrong_, and at the time, I didn't know any better. But I wished every night that I could take that day back. But I know I can't take back all the hurt it caused you…"

She took a deep inhale as if to prepare herself for the worst.

"But there's Haley. And she's such a good person, despite what she did. And this would kill her--"

"You have to _choose_, Nathan."

"What?"

"You have to choose between me and Haley."

"It's not that simple."

"It _is_ that simple."

"Brooke, she's my girlfriend--"

"Who do you want to be with, Nathan? 'Cause _I_ know who I want to be with. I've always known. He's standing right in front of me."

"I don't know who I want to be with!"

"How can you not _know_, Nathan?!"

"This is," he threw his hands up in frustration and began pacing the court, "Haley's my girlfriend, Brooke. And she loves me. And I love her--"

"So, there, you're choosing Haley."

"No, I'm--"

Brooke stepped in his way, "Then, WHAT, Nathan! What do you want! You have to choose between me and Haley, it's that simple!"

Nathan's voice lowered, "You can't just ask me that right here."

Brooke stepped back, "I've been in love with you for as long as I can remember, Nathan Scott. If you're gonna break my heart again, you do it, right here…right _now_. Just like last time."

Nathan took a step towards her and reached for her hand, "It's just…I really need to figure all this out." Brooke released his hand from hers and for the second (or third, or fourth, maybe fifth) time that evening, she was back to trying to compose herself.

"I can't just forget everything with Haley. It's not that easy." Brooke sensed the sadness in his voice and in her heart, "But it's so easy to forget about me?"

Nathan threw his head back briefly, as if cursing whoever was up there for putting him in this situation, "That's not what I meant, Brooke."

"Then _what_, Nathan. For once, make up your mind." Her voice became soft again, as if expecting defeat.

"Nathan, what's going on?"

The familiar voice sent shock through both their spines as they whirled around to face the familiar voice.

Haley James stood on the grass of the river court, with Lucas standing right beside her.


	11. Right Here, Right Now

**Author's note: **Here's the last chapter, everyone. Hopefully, it came out okay. It's short, but it gets to the point. Enjoy.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two, Haley and Lucas had witnessed their entire conversation-slash-argument. With her arms across her chest in an attempt to protect herself, she asked him again, "_Nathan_, what's going on?"

"Haley--" Brooke had beat him to it, but Haley immediately glared at her, "No, Brooke, you _shut up_." Brooke looked down on the ground, refusing to lock eyes with Lucas, whose face appeared disgusted at her.

"Haley, that--"

"Nathan, how could you do this?!" Haley's voice cracked as she quickly turned around and began running back to wherever she could find any comfort. Brooke's eyes remained glued to the ground, shutting it periodically, as if everything going on was a dream she was waiting to wake up from. She could feel Lucas's eyes burning through her skin as the sound of Nathan's feet rushed towards Haley's direction.

At that moment, Lucas walked up close to her and she slowly looked up at him.

"Tell me that everything I just saw wasn't real."

Brooke's heart sank as Lucas's voice cut into her. The eyes that once looked so lovingly into hers was suddenly full of hatred and disgust. And she didn't blame him; after all, she busted a Peyton for crying out loud. Minus the being-best-friends-with-Haley part, but it still hurt Lucas, who _is _Haley's best friend. It hurt just as bad.

Brooke began to open her mouth, but no words ever came out. She wanted so badly to take back everything that just happened to spare everyone else's feelings, but decided that it was time to take her own feelings into account. It was time everyone knew how she truly felt.

Lucas shook his head at the sight before him. It was as if the lights at the River Court had all beamed down just on Brooke, putting her in the spotlight. Part of him ached to see her in the state she was in, another part too ashamed to even try and offer her any type of comfort. But the better part of him reached over at her, pulling her in regardless of her resistance and enveloping her in his arms. Brooke sobbed uncontrollably in his shoulder and Lucas stroked her hair.

_Lucas cut her off, "It's like you already know the answer." She fought with herself to shed any tears, but in the comforting arms of her best friend, it was inevitable. Lucas held her in his arms as she sobbed in his chest, still trying to fight breaking down. He stroked her hair as his mind drifted off to Brooke Davis. _

_Moments later, Haley had urged him to start walking again and change the subject. "So have you told Brooke how you felt?"_

_Lucas sighed, "No. In a way, I think Peyton breaking up with me was a blessing in disguise."_

"_Yeah?" Haley tucked a hair behind her ear, "How so?"_

"_I guess I never really stopped loving Brooke."_

"_Hmm," Haley had finally controlled her emotions and was digging desperately within herself to lighten up the mood, "So then go get her, knight in shining sweatshirt! What are you waiting for?" She even laughed to add to the touch, but grew confused when Lucas didn't react. In fact, Lucas wasn't even paying attention to her by now. His eyes were locked on something else, and following it, hers landed on two people standing at the River Court…unaware of their presence. _

_The entire conversation that the two held seemed innocent enough, a broken friendship that they were trying to mend. Haley listened carefully, her conscience telling her otherwise. Lucas had become fixated on them as well, watching every movement Brooke made, until Nathan pulled her in closer in an embrace as she cried into his chest._

_She released herself from his embrace and looked up into his eyes, begging for any words to come out of his mouth, "I wasn't drunk."_

_Nathan stepped back slightly, "What?"_

_Catching her breath, she confessed, "When we were in Vegas, I wasn't drunk. I've grown a high tolerance for alcohol through the years, so I wasn't drunk."_

"_What," Nathan let go of her, "what are you saying?"_

"_I lied when I said it didn't mean anything. Because it meant everything. Even if it was for a few hours, you were mine. And…I didn't wanna let that go."_

_He chuckled in relief, "Wow," she wrinkled her brows in confusion, "I wasn't drunk either."_

_Brooke almost fell back from his words, "So…we were two…secretly consenting people…" _

_Haley swallowed hard as she listened to the conversation and everything she doubted was suddenly out there in the open. The tears began to well up in her eyes as thoughts of Brooke and Nathan flooded her mind._

* * *

Nathan desperately ran after Haley, calling out after her as she marched through the street, "Haley!"

Haley ignored his call until he caught up to her and grabbed her arm, "Nathan, let me go!"

"Haley," he pleaded, "Please, let me explain."

Haley stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, "Explain WHAT, Nathan? That you slept with another WHILE we were together?! I cannot BELIEVE I felt bad for going on tour while you were screwing someone else!" In those last words, she'd ended up on her tiptoes, yelling in his face as she pushed a finger hard onto his chest before turning to walk again.

"Come on, Haley, please," he chased after her once more, "let's go somewhere so that we can talk."

"I have NOTHING to say to you, Nathan! Go to hell!" She continued to march up the street, passing by Karen's Cafe, and almost began to run again.

Nathan caught up to her one more time and reached for her shoulder, "Haley, listen to me. I love you, okay? What happened with Brooke--that was--"

"What, Nathan? It didn't mean anything? Because last I heard you two have pretty much established that you knew what the hell you were doing and you weren't even sorry about it!"

"I am sorry about it! I'm sorry that you had to find out that way and I'm sorry for the hurt that it's causing you--"

"No, Nathan...it's not even the fact that I'm hurting. Trust me, I'm WAY past that. But you lied to my damn _face_, Nathan. You looked me right in the eyes, told me you loved me, and said that NOTHING happened with you and Brooke. Now I'm supposed to believe that you're SORRY?!" Haley's eyes had widened in anger and her hands gestured closed fists, "So tell me, Nathan. Since apparently you were BOTH sober and consenting to the sex...was there ever a time you thought, 'Hmm, maybe this isn't the right thing to do...maybe, JUST maybe, I love Haley too much to do this to her' and stopped to think about what you were doing?"

Nathan sighed and stayed quiet.

"I didn't think so." Haley crossed her arms, trying to control any more tears that may come. She didn't wanna fall apart, not in front of Nathan.

"Haley, I'm sorry."

"You know what, Nathan? Brooke's right. You _have_ to make a choice. It's either me or her. But if you choose me, you better count on never seeing her again. If you love me as much as you claim you do, you will never speak to her or even see her ever again."

"What? Haley, that's ridiculous!" Nathan had never seen this side of Haley. But it was a desperate attempt on her part to keep him close to her, to really determine how strong their love was for each other.

"It's me or her, Nathan. You can't have both."

Nathan sighed as he hung his head. He had to make a decision, right there, right _now_.

* * *

It was definitely the longest night of her life. Sitting at her vanity again, Brooke looked at her reflection in the mirror. Only a few hours ago, her face was as flawless as porcelain, and now her eyes were puffy, her face still flushed, and her hair wasn't as neat as it had been. The tears had finally stopped, but her mind couldn't help but replay the scene in her head. Lucas walking away from her, an apparent goodbye, as she went back to her car. Nathan chasing after Haley...like he always did. She bit her lip to control herself once more as she reached for her hairbrush and slowly straightened out her hair.

The dim lighting in her room might as well match the feeling inside of her. It felt as if the darkness was slowly swallowing her back into once more. Setting down her brush, she stood up and sat on her bed, grasping her hands, not knowing what to do.

Her cellphone suddenly alerted her to a text message. In no hurry, assuming Peyton was just giving her a low-down on Jake, she reached for it in her pocket. She flipped her phone open and her heart practically stopped from reading the words on the screen.

_From: Nathan  
11:58 pm 08/13/04_

_I'm sorry._

Brooke sat in silence, eventually the backlight of her phone had darkened the screen. He made his choice...and again, it wasn't her. Controlling her emotions were far from possible at this moment as the tiredness in her eyes hopelessly released more tears. She dropped the phone onto the ground as her face fell in her hands, succumbing to the lonliness that had consumed her life.

Her crying could be heard from the hallway as he approached her door. Seeing her right there on the bed crying broke his heart. He stepped forward as he called her name, "Brooke..."

She looked up from her hands, her face a mixture of confusion and disappointment...and, _Nathan? _"What--what are you doing here?"

He walked towards her and held out his hand, grasping hers when she reached for it, despite all her confusion and thoughts of it possibly being a dream, Nathan's lips met hers. It wasn't the angry motel room kiss, or the 'drunken' Vegas kiss...it was the kiss of intimacy, trust, an affirmation of hope, of the kind that only two people in love can share together.

It was the kiss she'd wanted for so long. He pulled his lips back from hers, and connected his forehead to hers, with one hand caressing the side of her face as she kept her eyes closed, afraid to wake up from this dream she'd been in. His touch felt so _real_, so soft and loving, yet a hitn of security came with it--letting her know that he wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

As she began to open her mouth, he spoke before her in a soothing voice, "I'm sorry...I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that I should have chosen you."

_End_.


	12. Epilogue

**Author's note**: Okay, this is definitely the last part. The idea was nagging at me and I couldn't resist. Hope you all liked this fic. Thanks for all the reviews!

**Epilogue**

"Ah, I can't wait to see you!"

"Don't worry, I'll be home soon."

"All right, give me a call when you're on your way home, okay?"

"I will. I love you." Nathan's voice disappeared from the line as Brooke hung up the phone. She looked around the kitchen, making sure she'd cleaned everything up before she retreated to the living room. She made her way to the living room, patting Opie on the head as she walked by his corner of the room (the dog Nathan got for her to keep her company the summer he finally went to High Flyers).

Turning on the TV, she made herself comfortable as she flipped on the channel to ESPN. In about a minute, she was gonna see his face again.

"_Thanks for tuning in to ESPN Sports Center._

_I'm Marvin McFadden and we have a very special guest here tonight._

_He's a very good friend of mine, _

_so let's please welcome shooting guard for the Charlotte Bobcats, Nathan Scott!"_

Brooke couldn't help but smile at the sight of Mouth fulfilling his dream to be a sportscaster and Nathan as a pro ball player. Nathan looked obviously uncomfortable on camera, not used to having his face plastered nationally for the country to see. But he put on a brave face and smiled every time.

"_Hey, man. Thanks for having me here."_

"_It's great having you here, Nate! But before we talk sports, I gotta ask you."_

"_Shoot."_

"_How's the family?"_

Brooke tucked a hair behind her ear as one hand turned up the volume of the remote control, and the other held a baby girl so close to her.

"_God, everything's great. Brooke and the baby are well. It's hard to believe she's only 5 months because it seems like she's growing every second!"_

"_That's great. Knowing Brooke she's probably beaming as she's watching you right now--sorry, Brooke, for calling you out on it--is there anything you'd like to say?'_

_The camera turned its attention from Mouth--or Marvin for that matter-- and focused on Nathan. _

"_Well, I guess all I can say is I have the greatest wife and best friend, and she's the real reason why I'm playing basketball." _

He ended the sentence with a wink and Brooke smiled as a single teardrop fell from her eye.

"_Oh, and the baby! Sophie, honey, daddy can't wait to see you. I'm coming home soon, baby girl."_

Brooke released a soft and husky laugh at Nathan's forgetfulness, kissing the baby on the forehead as the interview continued.

Right here, this life, was everything she'd dreamed of.

And she wouldn't have chosen any other way.


End file.
